Digimon: Endless Potential
by TheUtopianSociety
Summary: Yggdrasil fell to the Seven Great Demon Lords on the first day of the Greatest Sin War. The war has since ended and the survivors of the greatest groups in Digimon history have gathered under the leadership of a redeemed saint. This Yggdrasil Council must prepare the forces of good as peace can not last forever.
1. Chapter 1: Council

Chapter 1: Council

He awoke to emptiness. He didn't know whether he was falling or floating in place, he only knew that he lacked the strength to move his body. His eyes were another matter however, and in moving his eyes to scan the emptiness, he saw his body; strong and thick with muscle. He was a warrior. Large, powerful hands, fingers tipped with short yet sharp looking nails, and the scars of many hard fought battles covering his skin; he could be nothing but a warrior. The sharpened teeth in his mouth further solidified his opinion of himself though he found one thing peculiar. Why would a warrior such as he have such long, sun colored hair?

* * *

Far away from the emptiness and inside the tree that once housed the great computer known as Yggdrasil, a meeting was being held to determine the future of Digital World. In the large crystal meeting hall, the seven members of the Yggdrasil Council were meeting with the eight Ambassadors of the Digimon Species. Legions of the armor clad Knightmon were gathered outside the hall as security, the silver and gold of their armor and buster swords reflecting the light and making for a grand sight.

Leader of the Yggdrasil Council, the white feathered Chronomon Holy Mode, who simply named himself Wise, was addressing those in attendance. "This council was not made to combat the Seven Great Demon Lords. We have lost too much to them already." Wise and the Council, along with the Ambassadors, had been deliberating for a long time now on their next course of action when it came to the Demon Lords and their followers. "War is not the answer. Their forces are also weakened and unable to continue so it is at this time that we should rebuild."

"Nonsense, war is always the answer!" bellowed Poseidon, the ironically named Neptunemon, blue digizoid armor shining, trident in hand. "You are correct, they have stolen much. From me they have stolen my brother, my allies, and yet you would rather rest than attack the half dead cretins who've wronged us?"

"Council Member Poseidon, please, I ask that you calm down," began White, a KingChessmon and Ambassador of the Metal Empire. "As you have stated many times, they've stolen from all of us. Council Member Gloria is the last of the three Celestial Angels, Council Member Excalibur has lost contact with the rest of the Royal Knights and without an Omnimon, has no way to find them all, I myself lost a son. Regardless, we must not allow our emotions to take grasp of our decision making."

The beautiful, alluring Rosemon stepped in, "Ambassador White has a point, Council Member. After all, had any of us managed to maintain our composure after the death of Lord Cross, we may not have rushed the stronghold of the Great Demon Lords and we'd be in a better position at this time."

"Stop, Ambassador Eden." Poseidon slammed the end of his trident on the ground. "Too much has been lost for us look back in hindsight with our hardened hearts and tired eyes." Poseidon glanced over at Gloria the Ophanimon, widow of Lord Cross the Seraphimon, but more importantly, a good friend from when the Olympos XII initially came over to Yggdrasil's server. Gloria maintained her strong composure but Poseidon saw through her mask and into the internalized pain. He hoped Lord Cross' name would not be brought up again. "We have deliberated for too long. I say that the Ambassadors and the Council vote now. What say you, Council Leader Wise?"

Wise sat in his throne, slightly elevated so that he was higher than everyone else. His hands together forming a complete red sun with his arm's feathers. He studied the room quickly and what he saw were Digimon that had been strong for far too long. They'd all forgotten what it felt like to lack the strength to protect their loved ones. They felt helpless. Poseidon, finally in charge of the Olympos XII, or rather what was left of them, and longing for his brother to return from the dead. Gloria, blue armor and blonde hair without luster after having lost her husband, the killer being her oldest friend. Excalibur, powerful beyond his dreams and fresh out of his Dragon Mode and now tasked to find the great defenders of the Digital World. Core the Fanglongmon who was trapped by the joint effort of the Demon Lords and forced to watch as they laid waste across the Server he swore to protect. Divine the Goldramon who had to show unmerciful judgment unto his brother after Megidramon slayed Divine's wife and Divine's mentor at the command of the Demon Lords. Spirit the Susanoomon whose spirit was shattered when he realized that years of peace had dulled his skills, as while he still had his power he lacked the ability to best use it. And finally the Ambassadors themselves, they who saw the death of their species up close, who had desperately called out for help only to realize too late that no one was listening. Wise sat there and was saddened at the thought of the devastation wrought by the Demon Lords.

After his short moment of indulging in his hidden grief, Wise calmly and without hesitation spoke. "It is time to vote. If you wish the Council continue the war with the Great Demon Lords, say aye," he commanded.

"Aye," said Poseidon, Gloria, and Ambassadors Blade the SlashAngemon, Freakshow the Piedmon, and Light the ShineGreymon.

"Five votes," counted Wise. "All in favor of rebuilding the groups that have defended us in the past such as the Royal Knights and Olympos XII, say aye."

"Aye," said Spirit, Divine, Excalibur, Core, and Ambassadors Eden, Phantom the MirageGaogamon, Marina the MarineAngemon, and Ozone the Varodurumon.

"I too vote for rebuilding our proven defenders," stated Wise. "Ambassador White, why have you not cast a vote?"

"Because I agree with neither. I wish the council to give me permission to create a new group of defenders," replied White.

Wise's beak opened slightly in surprise. "Truly, White, this is no time for that. After all, we have the most powerful members of all Digimon gathered here, there is no one to fill the ranks of your defenders."

The blue orbs within Light's crimson colored wings shined bright with curiosity. "I apologize, Council Leader, but I will retract my vote of going to war until I know more about the Ambassador's plan."

The azure wolf-knight Phantom nodded his head and announced his agreement with Light in unison with Eden. "I do the same," they both stated.

"Please recall that the three of us come from humble beginnings, Council," began Phantom the MirageGaogamon as he swept his arm motioning at himself and the two other Ambassadors.

Continuing from Phantom's thought, Eden followed, "yes, and now we have risen to power far above most. While none of the Ambassadors are as old as the Council, Council Member Excalibur notwithstanding, I ask that you treat us with respect and present all the information you have. Our wisdom is not lacking regardless of our age," finished Eden, her voice charming despite the harder tone she had taken.

Phantom and Light both nodded in appreciation of their old friend's statement.

"We are Ambassador's, not Council Members, you three," said Blade, his sharp steel wings expanding above his head. "Do not see yourselves as more important than you truly are."

Freakshow's red lips parted to reveal exaggeratedly white teeth. The Piedmon always enjoyed these types of squabbles.

"Ambassador Blade, please stop. Ambassadors, you get your wish," conceded Wise. "Ambassador White, please, your plan."

"Excellent," said the happy KingChessmon, the tip of the gold crown atop his head shining brightly. "While it is true that we currently lack new warriors I will have my members eventually and they will be picked by me personally." White was sure of his plan and was not going to allow the Council to deny him his opportunity at creating something great. "I plan to look for Digimon with the potential to endlessly grow stronger and I will groom them to be the greatest defenders we've ever had. I will use the full strength of the brain available to me for being a KingChessmon and use every calculation, statistic, algorithm, etc., to find candidates that in time could turn the tide against the forces of the Dark Area."

Though some heads were nodding in acceptance, Ambassador White was after all recognized as a master tactician, Wise was beginning to get annoyed. Ambassador White had mentioned creating such a group in the past while the two of them enjoyed leisure but Wise had never expected his friend to so openly propose such an outlandish idea. Especially because the plan was so dependent on White himself.

"We lack the time and resources to fund such plans, Ambassador."

"I'll fund the search myself," snapped White. "I have the resources and besides, I've already begun my plan. I'll have those with potential come to me."

Larger than most, the mighty four winged Ozone made his presence felt as he interrupted with an ear piercing screech."You speak of your Champion's Tournament," he said, disgust audible in his tone. "A single Knightmon from those gathered outside could defeat the champion of your childish tournament yet that is the start of your selection process. Your plan is a fruitless endeavor, a waste of time, Ambassador White"

Divine the Goldramon was shaking his bearded head at the Varodurumon's words. "I disagree. All of us began weak and defenseless no matter how far ago that may have been. Perhaps some of us are too set in our ways to adjust to our new enemies."

Small, pink, and beloved by most, Marina sweet sounding voice joined in. "I have to agree with Council Member Divine. I too believe Ambassador White's plan may prove to be a much needed shot of adrenaline. Having new warriors is never a bad thing."

"I give my full support," announced Spirit, red and blue armor accentuated by gold giving him the look of a true authority figure. "My Legendary Warriors began in a similar way and they have done endless good since they joined together. I will believe in this plan -"

"Th-thank you, Council Member Spirit," interrupted White.

"You get ahead of yourself, Ambassador," said Spirit. "Do not allow your emotions to control your tongue. I believe in your plan on the condition that you allow one of my warriors to enter your tournament. They will follow the rules so you need not worry about them Digivolving to Ultimate level. Is that acceptable?"

White stroked his mustache in thought, concerned at the prospect of one of the Legendary Warriors participating. He reviewed it in his head for a few moments before responding proudly, "I accept those terms. If my one of my warriors can't defeat one of yours then this truly is a fruitless endeavor. Council Leader Wise, will you allow it?"

Wise once more scanned the room and saw that Spirit's words had gone a long way in convincing the rest of Digimon gathered. Nonetheless, Wise asked, "any member against say aye." No one spoke, not even Ozone. "Very well, you will be allowed to do as you please White, but you will report directly to the Council with all news and results."

"Understood," said the triumphant White.

"As for the rest of the Council, we are to dedicate our time to returning our forces to their previous strength as agreed upon by our vote earlier." Not a single Ambassador or Council Member argued. Wise had a certain tone he used when deliberating and another once he had decided. On this matter, he had decided. "After my official announcement, the Ambassadors shall return to their domains and await further instruction from us, the Yggdrasil Council." Wise rose from his seat and walked over to where a large balcony opened up behind him.

Ambassadors and Council Members remained inside their large meeting hall within the tree that once housed the true Yggdrasil. They heard Wise make the announcement of the Council's decision followed by the booming proclamation of loyalty from the Knightmon, a proclamation all Digimon had learned after the first attack by the Great Demon Lords.

"Yggdrasil is dead, long live His Council!"


	2. Chapter 2: Preparation

Chapter 2: Preparation

As thick as the jungle's canopy was, sunbeams still managed to get past all the leaves and branches to shine brightly on his closed eyelids. Because of the glaring sunlight, he awoke irritable. After throwing a tantrum in his head, in which he complained and cursed about the unreasonable brightness below the jungle's brush, he stopped to think about his situation.

He was floating or falling at one point, even now he couldn't decide which it was. Surrounded by emptiness, he could only somewhat see himself and he had concluded that he was a warrior despite his long, golden hair. Furthermore, he'd grown fond of his hair and, as a proud warrior, swore not to let said hair impede him from fighting to the best of his abilities. But who or what was he supposed to fight?

The loud roar of a beast and the high pitched scream of a young girl sounded through the trees lining the jungle and shattered his thought process. He wondered if he would assist the beast in hunting the girl or if he would defend the girl from the beast. He supposed his instinct would guide him.

Standing up he looked down at himself, shirtless but luckily with pants on. He lacked shoes but his beastial feet looked more than up to the task of traversing the jungle's terrain. Another scream from the girl reminded him of his goal to decide what type of warrior he was. In hearing the second scream however, he realized he was not a warmonger but rather a defender. One strong leg in front of the other, he raced through the jungle towards a defenseless girl and her assailant.

* * *

Leelee the Palmon was using her vine-like fingers to swing from tree branch to tree branch. She had been blindsided by Tig-Rey the Fugamon, her first opponent in the upcoming tournament, and was being chased by him through the jungle. Below and behind her, she could hear the quick, heavy footsteps of her attacker. She couldn't turn back the way she came but saw that there was bright light ahead of her. Her gut told her it was the city or at the very least something public and so she swung from tree branch to tree branch as quickly as she could. Her vines whipped forward and carried her towards her salvation.

There was no such haven in the light. Leelee had reached a large open area in the shape of a triangle. Patches of grass covered small areas in the dirt and rock filled opening. Some of her hope died but she wasn't giving up yet. She stopped at the border of the triangle and started swinging up one of the sides. The open space was a perfect triangle, trees were aligned ideally for her to swing at a faster pace than in the depths of the jungle. Leelee thought she might just manage to escape after all.

"Get back here, Leelee," called Tig-Rey, his mocking tone not hiding his bloodlust. "You're my first opponent and I just couldn't wait. I real warrior wouldn't run from a fight."

No matter how fast her pace was, Leelee did not believe Tig-Rey would stop hunting her. She needed to find a public place fast but at the same time, she wished she could fight the cowardly Fugamon. "Yeah, but an honorable warrior wouldn't attack their opponent from behind," countered Leelee.

"Honor is for Mons who don't care about winning," shouted Tig-Rey, veins bulging on his demonic face, mouth agape revealing his twisted yellow fangs. "Me attacking you means that I want victory more. I deserve it more!"

Leelee turned her head every now and then to keep track of the red skinned ogre, his words making her grow concerned. Tig-Rey was throwing himself further into his frenzy. Where he had simply chased her before, wordless, in an effort to make a future task easier, he now seemed to be enjoying the hunt. He raised the spiked bone club in his muscular yet thin arm and slammed it into the grass in front of himself. The impact of the blow threw grass mixed with dirt and dust into the air.

"Evil Cyclone!" shouted Tig-Rey as he spun his spiked club creating a small twister. The small wind vortex was sucking up the displaced dirt and grinding it down. Tig-Rey released the cyclone in the direction of the next tree that Leelee had available to her.

Leelee anticipated Tig-Rey's plan, she never released her grip on her most recent branch. She allowed the momentum to swing her back down underneath the branch she was still latched onto and heard the sound of wood violently breaking behind her.

Tig-Rey's smile grew wider when he saw Leelee's course of action. Despite how strong she could be at her best, she was still naïve. Feeling the dark energy gathering in his bone club, Tig-Rey knew he'd beaten her.

Leelee screamed when she next turned her face to see where Tig-Rey was. She felt the sting of kicked up dust in her eyes. The instinct to protect her eyes from more pain took over and she retracted her vines. She fell to the ground and despite her roll, landed with more impact than she hoped for, added to further by cuts from the small rocks. The excess momentum carried her to a painful stop when she felt her body crash against the unmoving strength of a thick tree trunk.

"Stupid," said Tig-Rey on the verge of laughter. "Come back and try to kill me in your next life Leelee. It's been fun but the weak gotta die." Tig-Rey's spiked bone club was raised above his head leaking a dark purple aura.

Leelee was sure it was over and yet she wouldn't show Tig-Rey she was scared. He didn't deserve the satisfaction. "Next time we fight I'll take you on as a newborn. Maybe then you'll be Mon enough to fight me head on."

Tig-Rey's eyes grew wide with rage at Leelee's comment. "Die. Tiger Hunt!"

The white club was descending quickly on Leelee but she wasn't scared as she saw it coming. She had been tough all her life and that was not going to change in her final moments. At least, she didn't want it change but she couldn't help it and she closed her eyes at the last moment, right in time to miss a Leomon ram his shoulder into Tig-Rey's gut and forcefully pin him against a tree.

Leelee opened her still dry eyes to see the Leomon with his large forearm across the chest of Tig-Rey.

"Get off me," commanded Tig-Rey to no avail. "She's my prey, I need her dead!"

A large fist to the face stunned Tig-Rey and the red of his skin became a few shades lighter. Tig-Rey looked at the Leomon, anger bubbling visibly in his eyes.

"What's your name, Leomon?" asked Tig-Rey. "You're Aware right, what's your name?"

"I don't have one," responded the Leomon. "What's yours?"

"It's alright, I have nothing against killing the nameless and furthermore, the soon to be dead have no need to know my name!" Tig-Rey snuck his arm into the bend of the Leomon's elbow and reduced the pressure of his forearm. Tig-Rey followed it up by hitting the Leomon with the hilt of his bone club.

Reeling backwards more from being startled than pain, the Leomon was already anticipating another attack. Predicting that it would be a wide swing, the Leomon closed the distance between himself and Tig-Rey immediately. The nameless Leomon had predicted correctly and as Tig-Rey awkwardly tried to control his reckless swing, the Leomon blocked the slowed hit with his forearm. Ignoring the slight sting, the Leomon focused on ending the fight.

He clenched his fist and felt a small heat within it. This would be over in one attack. The Leomon released a ferocious roar as his fist connected with Tig-Rey's face for a second time.

Tig-Rey took a few steps back, the weight of his club making him lean to the right. The Leomon thought he won only to be surprised by a wild swing of the club into his gut. Falling to his knees, the Leomon gasped for breath.

"It's not creative but I'll call you Leon," said Tig-Rey through labored breath. "When I tell the story about how I killed a Leomon, I want others to know you were Aware." Tig-Rey's smile had returned. "A weak ass punch like yours could never hurt me!"

"Poison Ivy!" shouted Leelee from behind Tig-Rey. Leelee's vines rapidly extended upward followed by her whipping her hands down to smash Tig-Rey under them.

Unimpressed, Tig-Rey smashed through the vines with his club. This time it was Leelee who had planned ahead however. Green powder refracted sunlight as it fell from the destroyed vines.

Tig-Rey realized too late what the dust would do. He felt his muscles stiffen as the paralyzing effect of the powder kicked in.

"Please, now's your chance!" called out Leelee.

The Leomon forced himself up off his knees and once against concentrated his strength on his clenched fist. Heat returned stronger than before but it still wasn't enough. The Leomon poured more strength into his attack and it began to be shaped into the image of a lion, the heat started to feel like it was going to burn his skin off.

"The lion wins this one," stated the Leomon. He bent his arm back, feeling an inferno form within his clenched hand. "Fist of the Beast King!" roared the Leomon.

A projectile in the shape of a lion's head erupted from the Leomon's fist and burst straight through the paralyzed Tig-Rey's chest and beyond to the trees behind him. Shattered wood making a disturbing sound as a few of the damaged trees toppled over.

Unable to breathe but not yet fallen, Tig-Rey stood in place without moving and silent, his eyes desperately darting from place to place for some sort of escape from his current situation.

"I thank you for my name," said Leon the newly named Leomon. "I apologize that the fate of your existence was to perish in combat."

Tig-Rey did his best to look down at his wound and he noticed what Leon was referring to. Tig-Rey's entire code was damaged. Leon's one attack had been too much for Tig-Rey to handle at such a close range, Tig-Rey was being deleted.

Tears of confused rage welled up in Tig-Rey's eyes. Unable to hold his club any longer, it fell to the ground. Blue-grey blocks of data were escaping from the hole in Tig-Rey's chest only to seemingly evaporate once they were more than a few inches away. Tig-Rey's eyes rose to meet Leon's gaze and what he saw was not exactly sadness. Tig-Rey saw pity, disappointment, in Leon's eyes and that infuriated Tig-Rey. If he could still move he would teach Leon what a true warrior was. But it was too late for that as Tig-Rey felt the ever expanding hole in his chest grow too large for his body to remain together. His upper body was now floating slowly towards the sky as his code was being eaten away by the damage. Tig-Rey's lower body had collapsed, the tiger stripe cloth he always wore already half gone.

Both arms had been entirely deleted by the time his thighs were gone. Leon stared at the disappearing Fugamon and wished he knew his name. Staring into the Fugamon's eyes, Leon saw only hatred and contempt aimed at him. The Fugamon's eyes never left Leon's gaze once their eyes had met. Fugamon's horns and forehead disappeared before his hateful staring eyes. Finally one disappeared and then the other, and Tig-Rey, the Fugamon Leon knew not the name of, was gone.

Leelee walked over to stand next to Leon, only as tall as about his knee. She looked up at him with a combination between a smile of ultimate relief and eyes of unending guilt. "Sorry for getting you involved. I didn't know that would happen."

"No, young one," began Leon, "forgive me for taking this too far."

"The both of you can stop feeling sorry as of right now," came a voice from behind them. From the thick trees of the jungle, a KingChessmon followed by two centaur like KnightChessmon, one black and one white, as well as a small legion of the rookie level PawnChessmon, also of both colors, emerged. "I am White KingChessmon, Ambassador of the Metal Empire in the Yggdrasil Council and the sponsor of the Champion's Tournament. We have much to discuss."

* * *

At the Tree of Yggdrasil, in a well lit crystal chamber, there sat a Susanoomon on a throne and his Warrior of Fire knelt before him. The crystals of the large room reflecting the bright colors of the armor worn by the Digimon creating an effect that made the room all the more regal.

"Are you ready, Dragon?" asked Spirit.

Dragon, an Agunimon, bent on one knee before his leader, a proud smile upon his face, was more than ready, he was excited. "I feel bad that I'll be the one to shut down Ambassador White's pet project but I look forward to competing." For a moment, Dragon's smile wavered enough to catch Spirit's attention.

"Is something troubling you, Dragon?" questioned Spirit. "Would it perhaps be about -"

"Yes," interrupted Dragon. "I apologize, Lord Spirit, but I can't help but think about Jaeger. He's out there and I wish I could be helping the others find him."

"I understand, Dragon, but this task is also important, perhaps more so." Spirit sighed as his palm came up to massage the helmet covering his forehead. "I hate saying that more than anyone, especially after how badly hurt Jaeger left Troia, but Ambassador White believes his plan could save us." Spirit looked up to see Dragon, fierce determination burning in his eyes. "I've failed once, it is time to give someone else a chance to do right by the Digital World. Would you agree?"

"Lord Spirit, I am the Fire that ignites your Will," said Dragon. "I will do as you ask."

"Thank you, my friend," said Spirit, sounding more tired than only moments earlier. Spirit stood up from his throne. "Yggdrasil is dead," he proclaimed.

Dragon stood up and answered, "long live His Council!" The proud Agunimon turned and walked out of Spirit's chamber.

"Silverius, are you there?"

"Of course, Lord Spirit," responded a Mercurymon as it seemingly stepped into existence, green armor shining almost as much as the silver mirrors all over his body. "I've just recovered, thank you."

Spirit retook his seat upon the crystal throne where a Ying-Yang circle on gray cloth, hung off the seat's back, elaborately decorated with the symbols of the Ten Legendary Warriors. "Silverius, do you think I'm making the right decision not focusing on finding Jaeger."

"As the Metal that solidifies your Wisdom, yes I do, my Lord," stated Silverius. "In your fight with Arclight, you had the advantage but failed because you lacked your Darkness."

"The Darkness that allows me to Delete," said Spirit, well aware of where Silverius was going.

"Correct, my Lord. You are not whole and rarely do you ever like to be. You allow us to lives our own lives, build our own relationships, pursue our own interests and while we are grateful, you know what that costs you.

"It costs me some of my power."

Silverius' face remained emotionless but the air around him changed. "6% to be exact, my Lord. I asked Troia and he said 6% is what you lose for releasing one of us at our full power. When all of us are allowed to be free, you are at 40% of your true power."

"I know," said Spirit. "Troia, the Wood that recalls all my Knowledge. Trees live a long life after all, plenty of time to gather information. Troia should live a long life as well."

"And he will, my Lord." The image of lips upon the reflective face of Silverius seemed to smile for a quick second before returning to the same stoic appearance of every day. "He analyzed his damage and said he would make a full recovery given enough time. That is still 6% you can't use anytime soon."

"At 94% my full strength, I almost defeated Arclight, I almost prevented all this but I couldn't delete him."

"Not without your Darkness, my Lord." Silverius approached Spirit's throne and placed his hand upon Spirit's shoulder. "My Lord, you made the correct decision. For all your power, there is too much risk associated in using it. You are not reliable."

"And you are rather insensitive in your efforts to comfort me." Spirit chuckled. "Thank you, Silver, you've calmed my Digicore with this talk."

"Please, my Lord, I prefer Silverius." Silverius took a step back and seemingly disappeared from existence.

Spirit's eyes shined silver for a few seconds. He closed his eyes causing the silver light to stop and he felt the entirety of his Metal ability within him, felt all his Wisdom return. "Yggdrasil is dead, long live His Council indeed," said Spirit drearily. He got up out of his throne to exit his chamber. It was time to train Excalibur the ImperialDramon and future leader of the revived Royal Knights.


	3. Chapter 3: Opportunity

Chapter 3: Opportunity

White the KingChessmon, Ambassador of the Metal Empire to the Yggdrasil Council, led Leon the Leomon and Leelee the Palmon, as well as his troops, to stand in front of bridge security. A massive white and black castle stood on the other side of the water. The guards were KnightChessmon, one of each color, large dart like weapons in hand. They solidified their stance, all four legs of the KnightChessmon standing firm, postures proud.

"Ambassador White, welcome back," said the KnightChessmon in unison. "We hope everything went well," they said, continuing their impressively precise and similar speech pattern.

"Indeed. Now as you were guards," ordered White, "these are my guests. Lower the bridge immediately so that we may converse in private."

"Understood."

The drawbridge was lowered almost immediately after White's command.

"Show off," whispered Leelee to Leon.

White turned his head, a large smile visible under his perfectly brushed mustache. The Ambassador motioned for everyone to follow him across the bridge which everyone did without question. Two enormous metal doors that looked to be as twice as thick as Leon was tall formed the final blockade to get into White's castle. Two more KnightChessmon stood guard but much like the first pair, Ambassador White quickly gained access to pass them by.

Once inside, the miniature knights known as PawnChessmon were led to either the left or right by the KnightChessmon that had been part of the jungle legion, the two lines separated by color. The walls of the castle made it all the easier to guess which color went which way. The walls were all black on the right and all white on the left. The furniture however did not have the same bland look as it all seemed to be made of metal that shined silver or gold. The occasional low hum of beautiful holograms could be heard as they walked, the technologically advanced picture frames changing from photos of White and what could be guessed was his family, pictures of friends, and of the many different places White had visited.

White, Leon and Leelee continued straight forward, none of them having much time to fully appreciate the loveliness of the achromatically colored walls filled by the warmth of what could only be called a home. Moreover, they weren't alone as any time a hallway opened on their sides, a PawnChessmon could be seen patrolling it. The three walked in silence.

After what was a considerable amount of time for what was a walk inside of a building, White and his new associates reached what appeared to be the back of the castle. There they found an elevator that quickly, but not smoothly enough for Leon's liking, took them to the top floor of the castle. As the white door split from the black, Leon and Leelee could see that the top floor was one enormous throne chamber. There were two thrones in the room and they were hovering, an antenna like protrusion surrounded by rings hung below the seat giving off a pale blue energy that seemed to keep the royal seat up. One of the seats was occupied by a beautifully armored female knight. She was clad in black and pink armor that was accented by gold. On her back she wore a long pink cape and around her waist she had a skirt made of swords.

"This is my wife, Black the QueenChessmon," said White, clearly very happy to show off his lovely wife. "And before you ask, our names come from tradition. Naming ourselves after the most prominent color we wear is as lazy as -"

"A Leomon named Leon?" asked Leelee, a mischievous glint in her eye.

"No offense Leon but yes, that exactly," agreed White. "Anyways, sweetheart, come meet our guests."

"Personally I've grown fond of the name Leon," argued the proud lion warrior. As Black approached, Leon fell to one knee, his right arm crossed against his chest. "It is a pleasure to meet you, your majesty."

Black let out a small girlish laugh at Leon's actions. "Please stand, I'm not actually royalty, I'm just married to a politician."

"A popular one at that," said White as he took his place next to his much taller wife. Taking one of her hands, he placed a small kiss on it. "I've missed you but I'm afraid that'll have to wait until later. Leon, you remember what we talked about on the way over here, correct?"

Standing once more, Leon looked at Leelee who stood a little behind him before replying. "Yes, deleting another Digimon, especially an Aware rather than a Program, is a capital offense that could be met with a punishment equal to the crime. I understand that Black is the acting executioner due to her strength and I stand ready to accept my punishment."

"Oh, White, you're awful," more gentle laughter escaped Black as she put the back of her hand up to cover her mouth. "Leon, while I appreciate your . . . understanding, we had cameras in the jungle. We saw everything."

"What? Really? I was almost deleted out there!" complained the suddenly fired up Leelee.

"No you weren't," responded Black, a caring smile upon her face. "We've lost good Digimon to the more violent competitors in the tournament in the past. To help and try remedy this, we have increased security in all public locations including the jungle. It was because I saw you that White and that small legion were there after your fight." Looking at her husband, Black's smile was replaced by a small frown. "White was supposed to subdue Tig-Rey the Fugamon quickly. I was the one who forced him out there to help you in the first place but for his own selfish reasons, a Digimon was deleted today. That is not right no matter how much Tig-Rey likely deserved it but at the same time, the blame lies on my husband."

"Sweetheart, I apologize, really I do," pleaded White, his wife clearly not affected by it. "I saw potential in the two here thus the explanation I sent you. Tig-Rey being deleted Is on me, you're right."

"As always," said Black strongly.

"No," disagreed Leon. "It was my attack, it was my lack of control."

"No, it's because of me," chimed in Leelee. "Had I been able to defend myself -"

"Enough!" commanded White. The three took notice and stopped trying to pin the blame on anyone. "Tig-Rey the Fugamon was likely going to be hunted by the law at one point or another. That doesn't make what happened today right but that is my sin to bear, as I'm sure my gorgeous wife will continuously remind me for some time to come. Regardless, more important things have become clear. Leon, you've passed my test."

"What test?" asked the now suspicious Leon.

"You were ready to be punished for what you perceived to be your wrongdoings," responded White. "You clearly value life and that is as important a quality as your potential, which you have a great amount of by the way."

"Whether or not I value life, I took one," said Leon sadly. "I'm sorry but no matter what you say, that Fuga . . . Tig-Rey; I didn't know his name until you said it Lady Black, thank you; Tig-Rey's life is on my hands and I want to atone for that in some way."

"And I've provided you the opportunity, Leon." White had hoped he'd be able to put Leon's core at ease with less resistance from him. "This tournament, you know the real reason for it is to find the future defenders of the Digital World. As you grow, I think you can stand among those new heroes."

A somber smile appeared on Leon's face. "Thank you for your kind words, Ambassador White. I appreciate it but -"

"Leon," this time it was Black doing the interrupting. "Enough. You are being given a chance to atone, this tournament is your second chance and believe me, what White is asking you to do is far more difficult than allowing me to end you."

"You make it sound it like deleting me would be easy for you," said Leon, a small chuckle escaping him.

"That's because it would be," stated White rather nonchalantly. "Very easily as of right now but hopefully not for too much longer."

"He's right, Leon, we need you to be stronger than me, stronger than the Ambassadors, stronger the Yggdrasil Council, stronger than the new generation of Dark Masters, and most importantly, stronger the Seven Great Demon Lords." Black's tone was serious, she stood close to Leon and he could feel the strength she possessed, it was radiating off of her despite her best efforts to control it. "We'll try to find you allies who will be able to stand as your peers, but for now, we need you to be the first step towards a safer life for us all."

"U-understood," coughed Leon as he cleared his throat. I'll participate in the tournament," agreed Leon garnering a sigh of relief from both White and Black.

"So, why am I here?" asked Leelee who'd been quiet throughout most of the conversation.

"You, my dear girl, have moxie." A giant grin spread across White's face. "I haven't seen you at your best, I know you're Knockout but you won the entrance fights easily. I want to see how you'll do when your best still isn't good enough."

"And if I prove I'm just so awesome that **all** my fights are easy?" asked Leelee as she rocked back and forth on her toes.

White laughed a bit this time. "Well, if you win that easily we probably won't need Leon anymore." A quick, restrained smack to the back of White's head from his wife made him change his tone. "Uhum, just know this, Leelee, you don't have to win to show you have potential. You're a good girl, you tried to take the blame for Leon. Know that I'm rooting for you, we both are." White hugged his wife around the waist and pulled her close.

"I'm rooting for you too, Leelee," said Leon, a friendly and fierce smile on his face. "I hope to see you in the finals."

"I hope you can keep up with me," giggled Leelee.

Leon looked to the Ambassador and his wife. "So, when exactly does the tournament start?"

Black covered her mouth to stifle her laugh once more. "Oh, White, you **are** awful."

"About that Leon, it starts tomorrow," said White hesitantly.

"And I'm in the first match," announced Leelee, the excitement visible on her face and audible in her voice.

"I can't wait," said the other three in precise and impressive unison.

* * *

"Welcome, Lord Dragon, we hope your trip went well. We are honored to have you participating in the upcoming tournament, please, right this way and I'll show you to your quarters for the length of the tournament, may they be to your standard of living," said the fast speaking Kudamon. Not out of breath at all, the flying white serpent called out to someone. "Oh dear love of my life, another has arrived, this time it's Lord Dragon."

Dragon the Agunimon was amused by the Kudamon. Openly smiling in his amusement seemed to make the Kudamon speak faster which was also rather funny to Dragon. The smile disappeared when he felt a small tremor underfoot. Turning around, Dragon saw what had caused the shake, an Ikkakumon, large even by Ikkakumon standards, was waddling his or her way over towards Dragon.

"Why hellooo there, Lord Dragon," said the friendly faced Ikkakumon, dangerous looking spike atop her furry white head keeping Dragon a bit wary. "I hope my husband, Cruz here, welcomed you properly."

Her voice was bubbly. Dragon had no better way to describe it than that. "Yes, yes he did a great job."

"Excellent. Oh, where are my manners?" asked the Ikkakumon to herself. "Tell me, Lord Dragon, how much does an Ikkakumon weigh?"

"I'm afraid I don't know."

"Enough to break the ice, silly," snorted the Ikkakumon, more tickled by her own joke than anyone else. "I'm Icebreak and just know you'll get no fact based answer for that question."

"No, I wouldn't think of trying to find out," responded Dragon, his smile once more on his face. "So, am I the last to arrive?"

The small white Kudamon who was apparently named Cruz flew up to Icebreak's horn and curled himself around it. "No you're not the last to arrive. You are the second last to arrive but you are the one that all the others have been anticipating the arrival of. We have a Stingmon, a Frigimon, an Apemon and more but you are the big name of this year's tournament. Betting which is normally allowed, was shut down for the finals because no one was betting against you. You must be a little flattered. Oh look, Lord Dragon, the final contestant is actually arriving now."

Dragon turned to look at the entrance of the coliseum and there he saw a large figure. Horns upon his head, a ring in his nose, and a gun for an arm, the newly arrived competitor was the brown furred Minotarumon.

The Minotarumon was taller than Icebreak even when taking her horn into account and his steps caused similar small quakes. He walked up Dragon. He turned his head to address Cruz's comment. "The names Toro, tiny Mon, remember that" said Toro to Cruz. "As for you, Dragon, I'm not scared of you but you should be scared of me," warned Toro as he stared down at Dragon. "I saw the stupid change in the bracket already. It's fine though, I'll see you in the semi-finals, little Mon." Toro straightened and walked away.

"This is his second time competing, we told him he could have the same room," explained Icebreak, some of her bubbliness gone. "He would have won too, had it not been Ambassador White's daughter competing. Guess he still holds a grudge."

"Yes, I hear her and her betrothed are currently field agents for the Metal Empire," recalled Dragon. "Well, looking at Toro, the Ambassadors daughter must be something special because honestly, even I'm a little concerned about fighting that Mon."


	4. Chapter 4: Setting the Tone

Chapter 4: Setting the Tone

Leelee the Palmon and Leon the uniquely named Leomon spent the night in the coliseum. Special rooms were made for all the competitors and despite the rough violent types that liked to compete, the chambers for each of the individuals were of the highest quality. Even one such as Dragon the Agunimon who was used to such lofty accommodations was unprepared for how nice the rooms would be.

All the rooms were large with white and black checker patterned walls. The rooms were furnished with soft cream colored furniture including a bed, that White ensured would be excessively spacious, for each competitor, a walk-in closet, a personal gym, a bathroom, and hologram set for entertainment. The rooms were made further nice by sections of the rooms made specifically for each competitor. Leelee had a tiny pond with a heat lamp to rest in, Dragon had a furnace he could walk into, and Leon was able to convince Ambassador White himself to create an anti-gravity room so Leon could go back to floating.

That night before the first day of the Champion's Tournament was peaceful. Despite the promise of violence in the tournament, that night prior to its start was quiet.

* * *

PawnChessmon of both colors held golden trumpets in their glove like hands and despite their covered mouths were able to perform a gallant greeting for everyone attending the Champion's Tournament. Ambassador White and his wife, Black the QueenChessmon, were standing in the coliseum's center, a large circle shaped, slightly elevated platform surrounded by the many levels of seats and hanging balconies.

"A warm Metal Empire welcome to you all," greeted White. "My wife and I would like to thank the PawnChessmon for their skills with the trumpet, let's hear it for them, Mons." The large audience all clapped for the small rookies, the PawnChessmon bowing before heading back their quarters. "And of course, thank you to all of you who have come from around the Digital World. Without you, this tournament would not have been possible." The audience clapped some more, a few cheers sounding throughout from the more rambunctious spectators.

"Without further ado, Announcer Cruz, start this tournament" commanded Black as she slammed the bottom of her staff on the ground causing pyrotechnics around the top of the coliseum to be set off. The vibrant display of colors garnering "ohs" and "ahs" from the younger members in the audience as well as setting up couples for a kiss, Black and White included.

"Sweetheart, you said I could set them off this year," whispered White as he and Black walked to their thrones.

"Yes, I lied," said Black just as quietly. "Maybe next year."

White and Black took their seats, the levitation devices of the thrones taking them to their special balcony to watch the day's events. As they floated up, Cruz the Kudamon took center stage as the announcer, his proud wife, Icebreak the Ikkakumon, glowing with joy in the front row.

"Well wasn't that something, yessiree. Well it's time to start this tournament and I for one can't wait to see this first battle. Introducing first, last year's runner up hailing from the Nature Spirits, it is Toro the Minotarumon!" The quick pace of Cruz's introduction pumped up the crowd as Toro received quite the ovation as he walked up the steps to the top of the platform. It might have been a chorus a boos but some noise was better than no noise. "Next, we have the young up and comer, first time competitor, heroine for the young who descends from the Jungle Troopers, it's Leelee the Palmon!" The initial reaction to Leelee's introduction was great due to most in the audience willing to cheer for anyone taking on Toro. That jubilation died down when the audience saw Leelee, worried expressions finding their way onto the faces of most.

In the lounge room for the other spectators, Leon was watching the event hoping Leelee had some hidden strength. He had questioned White during the building of the anti-gravity room about why Leelee was allowed to compete but White responded that it would be surprise. Leon had done some research on Toro and found out that he liked to brutalize his opponents and in small street fighting circles, he'd deleted his own number of Digimon. Luckily, White had explained that there was a special field set up around the circular platform. No one inside can be deleted due to the stabling properties of the field, and nothing could enter or exit, except for sound on the inside of the dome, in order to protect those watching and competing. Despite all this, Leon was hoping Leelee would be okay. With Tig-Rey out of the picture, Toro had been bumped up from round 2 to round 1, throwing the competitors a little bit off as everyone was prepared for the wrong opponent. Not that Leon thought Leelee could prepare for Toro. Though he had only known her a short time, Leon was already fond of the young girl and he wished her the best.

Back on center stage, Leelee was waving to everyone in attendance, an open mouth smile clearly visible for everyone, showing she was not afraid. "Don't worry everyone, I'll be fine." Leelee twirled on a dark green, vine-like toe and allowed her fingers to extend around her and surround her body. "I'm like last year's winner, I can digivolve!"

The crowd cheered at Leelee's announcement, Leon was caught off guard, Ambassador White and his wife just sat and smiled. Digivolution, a Digimon's ability to release their latent power for short amount of time resulting in larger increase in combat ability when compared to digivolution caused through aging. Also, other than their own identity, the biggest difference between Aware Digimon and Program Digimon was that Aware Digimon alone had the unique ability to digivolve.

As the vines continued to cover up Leelee, a faint white glow began surrounding her until it was almost too bright to look at. Bright white arms and a large head became visible. As the light disappeared, a giant humanoid cactus stood up, red boxing gloves on its hands, menacing black thorns all over its body.

"Palmon digivolve to Togemon," said Leelee's new form. "Announcer, if you could please announce me again," said the large new form in a much deeper voice.

Cruz nodded and started over. "The new up and comer, first time competitor, hailing from the Jungle Troopers, its Knockout!" Cruz floated to the top of the dome like barrier to take his place in a floating station all his own. The blue light of the forcefield started to ascend and create a dome, cutting off sound from the outside. "First match . . . BEGIN!"

Knockout rushed the brown beast man in front of her, both arms folded close to her body. Toro took a strong step outwards, slightly angling his body for a solid stance that had his right arm in front. Both digimon threw a straight right handed jab. Fist meeting fist, the clash of knuckles created a noise like a small explosion. They stood together in the center of the platform, arms still outstretched and trying to force the other one back but stuck in a stalemate.

"I thought this was an insult but I now see you might have a little fight in you," said Toro, an aggressive smile across his face.

"You're telling me, I asked for last years winner, not the runner-up," mocked Knockout.

Toro's pupils became completely red. "I'll make you suffer before I let you rest in the medical ward," he spat.

Slowly, Toro's left foot came forward. Then his right leg did the same. He had begun to push Knockout back despite her best efforts. She pulled her arm back suddenly and as Toro fell towards where she had just been, Knockout spun around him and used her momentum to throw a powerful left handed punch to the back of Toro's head. Her strategy failed as Toro threw his _Demon Arm_ back in time to block the oncoming blow.

Toro reflected the attack off his gun and forced Knockout a few steps back. He quickly took aim but as the three barrels began to spin so did Knockout, legs together and arms outstretched.

"Darkside Storm!" roared Toro.

"Needle Spray!" yelled Knockout in response.

The bullets from Toro's _Demon Arm_ met the needles being flung off Knockout's body. Knockout's needles, while less powerful, were more numerous and through this she gained some advantage. Toro stopped firing opting instead to cover his face and some of his body from the oncoming barrage. When Knockout stopped spinning, there was a multitude of small punctures covering Toro's body. Small bits of red, damaged data were escaping from his wounds.

Toro's arms came down to his side and he looked up at Knockout. "You're really pissing me off." The iris in both of Toro's eyes turned red, masking the already red pupils. He stood up straighter and flexed his powerful body causing all the needles to shatter immediately. "Not nearly enough, little one," said the taller Toro.

"Don't get cocky," said Knockout in response. "Needle Spray!"

Again Knockout spun and again the needles were shot at Toro. This time however, Toro didn't flinch at the oncoming assault. The needles hit but they couldn't pierce the combination of hair and muscle on Toro's body. Toro began to walk towards Knockout's spinning form and when he was close enough, he stuck out his hand and caught her by the arm. He squeezed her forearm with all his might which gained him a small startled squeak of pain from Knockout and a gasp of shock from the spectators outside. Toro pulled her in close to himself and shoved the end of his _Demon Arm_ into her stomach.

"Looks like it's over already," said Toro as his licked his lips.

"Not quite," argued Knockout as her free hand smashed down on Toro's gun. She followed that with a backhand to Toro's nose which stunned him enough loosen his grasp. Knockout jumped several steps back and away from Toro who had taken to checking his nose. As the distance increased, Knockout decided to lure Toro towards her. "Needle Spray!" She yelled out once more as the needles flew.

"That won't WORK on me!" shouted Toro as he charged straight through Knockout's attack, head down ready to stab her with his horns.

"Exactly what I was counting on," revealed Knockout who continued to spin faster and faster as Toro approached. "Now, Sandstorm Fist!" Knockout had timed her attack perfectly. Just as Toro had gotten close enough to almost impale her with his horns, her punch had connected perfectly across his face and knocked him spiraling into the air, body limp.

Toro landed with a loud meaty flop. The crowd eagerly anticipating what would happen next as the ten count began. 1, nothing happened. 2, nothing still. 3, a gasp for breath. 4, a cough. 5, Toro arm's began to move about. 6, Toro began screaming at the ground. 7, Toro's arms managed to get his upper body off the ground. 8, Toro was on one knee. 9, Toro stood straight, his eyes completely red with anger.

Raising his _Demon Arm_ above his head, Toro brought it crashing down hard. "Darkside Quake!" he shouted as a Knockout began to feel the trembling beneath her feet. The stone of elevated fighting ring beneath her launched Knockout a few feet into the air throwing her off balance. Toro lunged at her stabbing one long horn into her body before whipping his head to slam her back to the ground.

"At my best, you're nothing, little one," said Toro as he landed next to her, standing tall over Knockout's down facing body.

The ten count began for Knockout. 1, Knockout's arms reached up to grab Toro around the ankles, Toro unable to do anything without breaking the count stood motionless. 2, Knockout was on her knees using Toro for support. 3, Knockout was slightly bent over but she was standing on her feet, the count had been broken.

Metal clicks were heard throughout the arena. Parents covered the eyes of their young ones. Back in the lounge, Leon stared at the hologram terrified. Toro once again had his gun to Knockout's gut and it didn't look like she'd be able to fight out of it this time.

The barrels began to spin realizing everyone's fears. The gunfire was heard over Toro screaming "Darkside Storm". Countless large calibur bullets tore through the plant like body of Knockout as she stood defenseless. The used up shells clattered to floor creating the story of steel tearing through a forest for all those who weren't watching. The barrels kept spinning, and spinning, a seemingly endless amount of bullets going through Knockout creating a disgusting, red data leaking hole in her body.

"I win, little one," sneered Toro who obviously cared little about his opponent.

Knockout was barely conscious at this point. Somehow she was and she did not want to waste the last of her willpower. She wouldn't let Toro win. "I don't think so," she whispered as her eyes shut. "No" she thought to herself, "I win". Knockout's eyes burst open.

She grabbed Toro's _Demon Arm_ which was still pressed against her and locked it in place as she brought her free hand down on the weapon. The pressure of the two pronged attack was enough for her to rip the gun off of Toro's body. Toro howled in pain as everything from the elbow down was taken from him.

"Shut up!" commanded Knockout as she hammered Toro's temples with her two fists, his horns breaking off in the process. "You can't handle this," said Knockout as she puffed what was left of her chest out. "Northern Crossing," a right handed jab that knocked the red out of Toro's left eye. "Southpaw Rising," an uppercut that caused the crunching of Toro's jaw bones and knocked the red out of his red eye. "Twins on the Horizon!" Knockout pulled her arms back against her body before taking a large step forward and throwing two straight forward punches with all her might. The impact of the blow audibly breaking bones in Toro's abdomen before violently propelling him backwards, him flying backwards through the air until he hit the barrier, his eyes all white from unconsciousness when he met the floor.

The ten count started for Toro but as per the rules, if Knockout collapsed before the ten, the fight would be considered a draw. At 7, Toro still hadn't moved and his chest had just begun to expand with his breathing. At 8, Knockout could no longer keep her eyes open. At 9, Knockout could no longer maintain her Togemon form and returned to Leelee the Palmon who was a few feet in the air due to suddenly reverting back. The countdown struck ten before Leelee hit the ground.

"And the winner of the first fight on day one is Knockout the Togemon, better known as Leelee the Palmon!" announced Cruz to a mighty ovation from the crowd.

* * *

Back in the spectators lounge, Leon sat back in the couch, relieved at the outcome as well as feeling the warmth of pride in his chest.

"That's too bad," said a voice behind Leon. He turned to find Dragon the Agunimon standing, arms crossed on his red armor, watching the hologram. "Even after all that I can tell you right now, she doesn't stand a chance against me."

"Yeah,we'll see about that," said Leon with his teeth bared. "After all, I'm sure Toro thought the same thing when he first saw Leelee."

Dragon shook his head. "No, even Toro was far weaker than I imagined. Watch my fight and you'll understand the difference between myself and the rest of the competitors here."

Dragon exited the room and headed for the arena. His fight against Goldenback the Apemon, former trainer of the previous year's winner, was next.

* * *

"And that's a ten. Goldenback's first time entering a tournament after training so many participants in the past has been cut short by the overwhelming might of Dragon the Agunimon. Now as the barrier lowers, let me see if I can get a few words with our fiery fighter." Cruz flew down to meet Dragon, the holy ring around his neck shining in the sunlight. "Lord Dragon, would you like to say anything after your victory here today."

Dragon raised his head, he still stood over Goldenback's large collapsed body. A single strike to his stomach had been enough to down the particularly big Apemon. No fire, no strategy, just pure, simple, insurmountable strength and the Legendary Warrior of Fire had won his first round match. Dragon looked at Cruz and nodded his head.

"Bigger isn't better. Stronger is better and that makes me the best in this tournament," began Dragon. "I set the bar, I am the gold standard, I'm what the others strive to be." Flames erupted from Dragon's armor causing Cruz to back away from his fiery form. "I am the uncrowned winner of this tournament. I look forward to the finals." Dragon dropped to both knees, arms spread above his head and yelled for all to hear, "Yggdrasil is dead, long live His Council!"


	5. Chapter 5: Future Plans

Chapter 5: Future Plans

Having witnessed Dragon's unrelenting might, Ambassador White called an intermission before the beginning of the second half of the bracket. None of the spectators in attendance complained as almost everyone was emotionally drained having seen Dragon's victory. For many of those watching, the tournament had been decided.

White on the other hand did not want it to be so and thus rushed to the special chambers he shared with Black during the tournament, his wife right behind him. Once inside, White commanded the dark colored PawnChessmon to begin his meeting with the Yggdrasil Council. The large sphere in the center of the room, that was the hologram projector, burst to life creating slightly transparent images of the seven Council Members. Floating directly in front of White was the large, pale-feathered, avian form of Wise, leader of the Council.

"Ambassador White, why have you called for this meeting?" asked Wise, his voice booming throughout the chamber. "We've allowed you to host this tournament but now you have placed it on hold, explain."

White bowed his head to Council Leader Wise and then twice more to either side of Wise as an encompassing gesture of respect to the rest of the Council Members. "I apologize for my actions, Council Leader, but something of great concern troubles me and I am unable to act without your permission."

"Allow me to stop you right there," interrupted Spirit. The hologram projector spun to have the image of Spirit in front of White, the mighty Susanoomon's colorful armor shining despite only being a hologram. "This clearly has to do with Dragon. I assume you believe his inclusion is unfair."

"If I may be so blunt, yes I do," confessed White. "When I agreed to have one of your warriors compete, Council Member Spirit, I did so in good faith. I would have thought you'd put restrictions on whichever warrior you sent but it's clear that that is not the case."

"Good faith, I am the one who acted in good faith," argued Spirit. "It was my support that led to your tournament and its efforts going unopposed. Furthermore, regardless of whether you needed it or not, we the Yggdrasil Council gave you resources. We made sure all the top Champion level Digimon from around the world would be competing."

"And your Mon dropped one of the best in a single hit," said White, voice loud, tone aggravated.

The sphere turned once more and this time it was Gloria the Ophanimon floating before White. "Ambassador, I advise you to take control of your emotions. Now, while I certainly didn't expect Dragon to lose in the first round, the ease of his victory is alarming."

"Thank you, Council Member."

"Don't thank me yet, I'm not done," said the slightly annoyed Gloria, the grip of her right hand having grown a little tighter on her spear. "Regardless of his victory and how it came about, the agreement was that he compete and be defeated. The one to defeat Dragon becomes the first step towards your new defenders but due to the importance of this endeavor, as well as the incredible amount of faith we've all put in you, Ambassador White, you've no right to complain." Gloria hit the floor of her chambers with the bottom of her staff, the loud clang sounding over the hologram projector's speakers. "Should there be a vote for the motion of removing Dragon from this tournament, know that I will oppose it."

"It has been noted," stated a much more serious White. He was not used to being verbally put in his place by anyone other than his wife, much less in a situation where a worse case scenario could realistically cost him his position as Ambassador of the Metal Empire.

The sphere spun once more and this time it was Poseidon the Neptunemon before White. "Ambassador, what Council Member Gloria has said is all correct," said the deep voice of the large blue titan. "But I wish to add to that. Know that I am not pleased that you came running to us at the first sign of trouble. As someone who craved a leadership role for so long, much like yourself, you need to recognize that our positions do not come without responsibility." Poseidon lifted one large blue digizoid covered arm to show he had a six sided star necklace made by three lightning bolts. "My brother gave this to me when I was young. Though it is now far too small for me, I keep it with me at all times as a reminder of the leader that my brother was. This child's necklace keeps me sane, it keeps me motivated, but more than anything, it keeps me honest." Poseidon let his arm holding the necklace fall to his side. "Honestly, Ambassador White, everything is on the line. Only winners want to lead when everything is on the line," said Poseidon, his tone a bit more aggressive. "If we allowed you to lead us to a new hero, don't come to us with excuses, come to us with victory in hand. Someone in your tournament had best defeat Dragon or you've wasted valuable time and resources here today and for the duration of this tournament."

Sphere turning, Wise was once more in front of the KingChessmon. "I apologize, Ambassador White, but it seems all of us are in agreement. Dragon is allowed to stay and continue as he has been doing up to this point."

"I-I understand," he stammered due to rage and confusion by what he deemed to be an unjust call but White knew it was over. This meeting was for naught. "I apologize for taking up your time. I will return and continue the tournament. I hope you will all continue to enjoy today's event."

Wise nodded his head, a sad expression visible on his tired face. "We look forward to the rest of the tournament."

The sphere turned, and to the surprise of everyone, it was Excalibur who wished to speak, the golden crest atop his head shining. Divine and Core had always been quiet members in the short existence of the Council, but Excalibur didn't enjoy voicing his opinions often due to his colloquial form of speaking and so it was actually more rare to hear him speak than any of the other Council Members.

Clearing his throat, the young Imperialdramon began, "Ambassador White, I just wanted to say . . ." Excalibur was nervous, he himself didn't quite know what he wanted to tell White, "just, believe in your Mons. You got your Digicore in the right place. I'm rooting for you."

White couldn't help himself, he smiled when he heard "I'm rooting for you". The same words of encouragement he'd given Leelee the day prior. It had been a long time since White the KingChessmon, Ambassador of the Metal Empire to the Yggdrasil Council, had felt like an underdog in need of reassurance and support. It was nice to know he had it.

"Thank you, Council Member Excalibur," replied White, genuinely moved by the Imperialdramon. "Yggdrasil is dead."

The seven other digimon responded in unison, "Long live His Council." The sphere turned quickly for a moment and then all the holograms were gone.

Black who had been standing near the door to the chambers now approached her husband. "What now?"

White looked up at his wife, a mischievous grin upon his face. "First, we continue on with the tournament and second, we start believing in the Mons that we're rooting for."

* * *

"And we are back. I would like to personally thank the crowd in attendance for being so understanding but let's be honest, I think we all needed a little rest after Lord Dragon's performance am I right?" asked Cruz smiling wide as the fans cheered. "We have two matches to go. Up next is a well known Digimon bounty hunter around these parts. Please welcome, Daystar the Igamon!"

The crowd cheered even more loudly as the stumpy bodied, red ninja Digimon jumped on to the stage. He threw four shuriken, each about the side of his torso, up into the air. As they slowed down and began to fall at him, Daystar leapt to meet the shuriken head on. As the throwing stars pierced his body to gasps of shock and fright from the crowd, the Igamon transformed in a log of wood only to appear out of thin air right next to where the log landed. This resulted in clapping, cheering and whistling from those in attendance.

"Well wasn't that something, folks? Quite the entrance Daystar," complimented Cruz. "Now, onto the sixth competitor of the day, someone we know very little about which makes his name all the more appropriate. It is Ghost the Stingmaa!"

Ghost the Stingmon had flown into the air after Daystar's entrance. He flew down swiftly and landed on both feet hard which startled the small serpent, Cruz. Cruz looked up into the large insectoid eye of Ghost and asked, "do you have something you want to say, Competitor Ghost?"

Ghost replied in a small whisper almost to low to hear and perhaps all the more interesting for it, "Dragon is not the only monster in this tournament."

Cruz and the rest of the crowd couldn't believe their ears. In the med-ward, Leon and Leelee sat, mouths open from, as did White and Black in their viewing suite. "Right," Cruz had lost the zeal in his words, "let's get this started then." Flying up to his special seat, right above where the dome would close, Cruz perched himself and announced for all to hear, "Match three, begin!"

Daystar became a red blur as he began at an incredibly fast sprint in a circle around Ghost. "You underestimate me, Ghost. I'll show you what a mistake that is," taunted Daystar. "Iga Style: Smoke Ball!" A black orb the size of Daystar's palm appeared in his hand. He threw it at the ground causing a large smokescreen to engulf the inside of the dome."

On the outside, Cruz announced that the dome had a special screen that would allow the audience to see what was going on inside even if the combatants themselves couldn't see a thing.

"Take away the sight of someone who has never experienced true darkness and you create a coward, Ghost," jeered Daystar. "Iga Style: Shadow Clone!"

The smokescreen was effective, Ghost could only see Daystar as a vaguely red streak whenever he got close. After Daystar's second move however, Ghost was now starting to see multiple streaks.

"Iga Style: Taijustu!"

Multiple blurs, what Ghost counted as seven but could possibly have been more, rushed him from all sides. Ghost put his arms up to defend himself as he started to feel his body getting bombarded by punches, kicks and kunai strikes. The natural defense of Insect type Digimon proved very useful as the steel that would normally cut through flesh came only as thin, blunt attacks. Daystar could not penetrate Ghost's defense. Realizing this, the Igamon and his clones jumped back and away from Ghost.

"Iga Style: Dancing Leaves!" Shouted the many Igamon. There was suddenly wind in the dome. The smokescreen was being sucked up by the vortex of Daystar's technique. "Iga Style: Giant Solar Eclipse Star!" Daystar and his many clones were all in floating in the air, the smokescreen spinning around them. Have initiated this new attack, the black twisters all crossed paths, Ghost the Stingmon in the center of the collision. Ghost couldn't help it, he screamed in pain. "Who's the monster now," mocked Daystar.

"Still me," thought Ghost to through the pain.

"This is why I'm called Daystar. Iga Style: Fire Waltz Sword!" Daystar drew the katana on his back, flames immediately erupting from the sheath as the scarlet glowing steel blade shown with power. Daystar jumped towards the small valley of twisters he had created around Ghost and slashed his sword down. The flames of the katana ignited the smokescreen. "Iga Style Secret Technique: Nova Canyon!" The fire tornadoes danced around Ghost but he was beyond screaming at this point.

Daystar landed on the ground, as confident as ever in his own abilities. Now all he had to do was wait for the fire to die out and allow the count to announce him the winner. It looked like it would take awhile as the flames were roaring with ferocity, not looking like they would cease burning any time soon. Daystar sheathed his katana and folded his arms across his chest.

He didn't mean to torment his opponent but he couldn't help it, Daystar opened his mouth to gloat, "Looks like after all your tough talk, I -"

The firestorms that had danced moments before seemed to be tossed aside as they quickly burnt out. Ghost the Stingmon rushed forward at a speed the Daystar was not expecting. Daystar's hand went up to grab his sword but a large stinger glowing a phantasmic violet went straight through his face stopping his hand cold.

"Ghost Maker," whispered Ghost. "Be proud that I couldn't defeat you with just a punch but know that you lost to me." Ghost retracted the strange stinger into his arm right above the top of his hand. Daystar collapsed and didn't so much as twitch during the ten count. Ghost stood there, body charred, as the dome went down and Cruz announced him the winner.

* * *

"Guess we have more than just Dragon to worry about, huh, Leon?" asked the Leelee, concern in her eyes despite the jovial tone she was trying to speak with.

"Yeah, no kidding," agreed Leon. "Are you sure you'll be ready to compete tomorrow, Leelee. I talked to Dragon, he said he knows you can't win. After how easily he beat the Apemon, I find it a little hard to argue."

"Wow, thanks, jerk," said Leelee as she punched Leon's arm. "Whether I fight tomorrow or not, Ambassador White said he would come let me know for sure. The fight with Toro may not look like it affected me at all in this form, but their tests show that as Togemon, I haven't healed very much. Problems of digivolving. Two separate timetables when it comes to healing."

"Knock knock," said a voice, light tapping on the door.

"Speak of the Fallen Digimon," teased Leelee as Ambassador White walked in.

"Indeed, Leelee," smiled White. "I'm sure you know what I'm here to tell. I overheard you a little bit and it doesn't seem to have brought you down much."

"So you're saying that she's out," interrupted Leon.

"I'm afraid so," responded White. "Anything you want to know, Leelee?" he asked.

"No, I expected as much to be honest," she said, clearly still in good spirits. "Actually, I guess I want to know what happens to Dragon."

"About that, Leon, I hope this doesn't bother you too much but Dragon is getting bumped up straight to the finals as per tournament rules," explained White.

"Forgot about that one," replied Leelee as she remembered her brief overview of the rulebook.

Leon smiled, his fangs visible. "No, I like it that way. Dragon was always supposed to be my final opponent. No offense, Leelee."

"Actually, I'm a little offended," said Leelee as she smacked Leon's arm for a second time. "Give him a punch for me, okay."

"Yeah, okay," promised Leon.

"Well, this went better than expected," admitted White. "If you don't mind, I'll take my leave n-"

"Ambassador White, Ambassador!" called a panting PawnChessmon as it ran into Leelee's room. "Please come with me, it's your daughter, she's hurt, but she has news on the artifact!"

White looked grimly at the two young Digimon. "Excuse me you two," he said as he followed the PawnChessmon to where his daughter was resting.

* * *

"Please, Lady Yellowtail, you must lay back down, you're injured," argued the medium sized bird known as Kiwimon. The tiny chicks around the flightless bird joined in, repeating the advice that Kiwimon had just given.

"No really, I'm fine. I must see my father," replied the humanoid fox.

"Yellowtail, listen to the nurse and lay back down," ordered White as he burst into Yellowtail's med-ward room. "Nurse, I have important matters to discuss with my daughter, if you could please leave us be and I will ensure your advice was not given in vain."

"I appreciate it," thanked the Kiwimon with a turn of the head and a small "hmph". The many small birds jumping around once more mimicked her. She exited the room, the double colored doors sliding closed behind her.

"Hi, dad," said the Renamon. "Sorry if my arrival scared you."

"No, no, I'm just glad you're back safe," he replied. "I sent you on that suicide mission, you were hurt because of me."

"I would have gone even if you hadn't made me leader of the retrieval squad," insisted Yellowtail.

"That's my Yellow, always quick to help those in need," said White, a little pride finding its way into his words.

"Why did you name me Yellowtail if you were just going to cut it short?" asked Yellow.

"I'm sorry," apologized White, "I just haven't seen my daughter in awhile, calling you that nickname makes me feel closer to you. We were starting to get worried with all the radio silence." White paused to simply look at his daughter. "It's good to have you home. Shirou too, but mostly you."

"Yeah. Shirou's different, dad. Not just his abilities, his personality. I can't place it but something happened to him when he was kidnapped."

"I'm sure. More on that later though," said White. "The PawnChessmon you sent, he said you had news on the artifact. What did you find out?" asked White, deathly serious now.

"The group the took Shirou hostage, The Gauntlet, they've been using the artifact to expand their power," explained Yellow. "The Gauntlet is forcing Digimon to Digivolve. Once they Digivolve, it doesn't matter if you were Aware or not, you become a Program made to serve the members of The Gauntlet."

"You managed to get Shirou out, does that mean you also have the artifact then?" asked White, urgency clear in his voice.

"I'm sorry, dad, it was my squad and Shirou or the artifact. We were being chased, I decided to throw the artifact into a waterfall to distract our pursuers." Yellow bowed her head embarrassed by her actions. "It was the largest waterfall in that forest and it takes water all over the city. I figured that most Digimon wouldn't know what the artifact was even if they found it."

White took a deep breath, worry and anger mixing into a strange emotion he didn't have the word for. "We're going to have send another squad to find the artifact."

"I know, dad," agreed Yellow, "and if you'll allow me, I want to do right by you, I want to fix my mistake."

"Unfortunately, you're too strong for me not to assign you as the leader. Heal for the rest of tournament because you'll be leaving three days after its end," said White. "Whatever we do, we cannot allow our enemies to get their hands on the DigiMental of Miracles."


	6. Chapter 6: The Real Monster

Chapter 6: The Real Monster

Black the QueenChessmon received a message from Ambassador White to continue on with the final match of day one. She complied with her husband's wishes and after informing the crowd that White would be absent, Black allowed Cruz to announce the final two competitors of the day.

First was Leon the Leomon whom Black knew White was quite fond of. Black herself liked the lion warrior quite a bit but her personal opinion of Leon didn't mean he could save the Digital World. Still though, she hoped for his victory. After reviewing the events with Tig-Rey the Fugamon over and over, Black truly believed Leon had the heart of a hero.

He would have to get by Coldfist the Frigimon regardless of her thoughts on him however. The hefty white snowman's face was unreadable as glossy black eyes and a solid black nose were the extent of his facial features; soft looking, yet thick, arms and legs shone a pure white as well. Two red, vertically aligned buttons were on his chest to complete the description of him. Even though Coldfist honestly didn't look all that impressive, he had made a name for himself in fighting competitions in different parts of the Digital World. Black hoped that Leon would not underestimate the large white bruiser.

Leon and Coldfist walked onto the battle platform and much to the delight of the crowd, as well as Black, they shook hands. Cruz flew up to his spot as the dome closed and announced the start of the final fight of day one.

* * *

"Ambassador White, it is good to see you again," said a lean humanoid lying down on a long bed meant to accommodate his height but still being a bit too short. "I never imagined saying that to the father of my girlfriend. Please come in. If you'll just give me a moment, I'll properly give you my report."

"Shirou, relax," ordered White as he took off his golden crown and took a seat in what would be the doctor's chair. "Just lay there and rest. Forget the formalities, just tell me what you've learned."

"Thank you, Ambassador," said the bi-winged angel digimon, his violet colored bandages lazily falling around his left arm and right leg as he returned to the more comfortable position. "Before I start though, have you already spoken with your daughter?" asked Shirou.

"Yes," answered White, "and she's healing nicely if that's what you're wondering."

Shirou gave a laugh. He might be bedridden but from the strength in his laugh, White figured it mostly for caution's sake. "Yes it was, thanks. Alright, now I feel comfortable beginning," stated the Pidmon as his face became a bit more somber under his mask. "The Gauntlet are far more important than what we initially thought. I'm sure Yellowtail already told you that they were forcing Digimon to Digivolve."

"Yes, and that it results in powerful Programs willing to do their bidding," confirmed White.

"Correct, Ambassador," said Shirou with a slight nod. "To expand on that, the Digivolution is specifically Armor. Armor level Digimon typically have strength in between champion and ultimates so you can see why this is so troubling."

White, clasped his hands together above his head. "Champions are the most common battle ready Digimon but they won't be enough to defeat Armor levels."

"Exactly," confirmed Shirou. "The chances of victory are lessened even more due to the fact that those forced to Digivolve are Programs who exist to serve their masters. There will never be a rebellion or a key traitor in their ranks such as Ambassador Freakshow was in the first war."

"So any mischievousness or heroism a Digimon may naturally possess, Program or not, is overwritten to merely obey those monsters."

Shirou nodded. "I'm afraid so, Ambassador. The Gauntlet didn't steal the Digimental from us in order to create a single powerful entity, they stole it in an effort to create a superior army."

White let out a long, tired, frustrated sigh. "Do you have any idea what their numbers look like? It doesn't have to be exact, an estimate will do."

"I unfortunately do not have a very clear idea," admitted Shirou, a little disappointment in his voice. "Plenty of young Digimon would be brought to The Gauntlet's lair each day that I was trapped. They've created a least a few thousand Programs by now. As for the members of The Gauntlet, I know that each of them keeps some of the Armor level Digimon as their own enforcers. Likely no more than twenty or so for each."

"Even that number is too large considering how much power each one possesses," said White. "I might have to call in a few favors to make sure you and your team make it back alive. Thank you for the report Shirou."

"Of course, Ambassador," offered Shirou with a bow.

"Now that business is out of the way, I'm curious about something. My daughter said you had changed, that -"

Shirou cut him off with his hands raised, "That's a shame, Ambassador, I was really hoping that she hadn't seen me."

"Thank the lost Yggdrasil that Shirou got ahead of himself," thought White. The angel before had been hiding something more than just an attitude change like White had initially suspected. "I'll give you one chance to explain, Shirou."

"I understand," the Pidmon said. "The Armored Army is an enormous threat but that's not where The Gauntlet's plans end. The artifact, that ancient DigiMental, it has the potential to do more than we ever thought." Shirou paused and concentrated a bit of power in his palms. He raised both arms to show White a ghostly blue orb giving off a cold chill, as well as a small black cloud giving off a sickly sensation. "This is what they did to me."

"They inverted your power, Shirou," said the startled White as he stood up. "How? Why? Shirou, do you know their end game?"

"Isn't it obvious, Ambassador?" asked Shirou, his voice almost a whisper. "Why defeat your opponent when you could bring them over to your side? The Gauntlet forces an Armor Digivolution but what about Digimon who are Ultimates, or what about the Megas in the Yggdrasil Council; you and the rest of the Ambassadors even. Corruption was clearly the next step and it's one we should have seen coming."

"Innocentus the Cherubimon?" asked White as his powerful brain started making the connections.

"That's correct, Ambassador White," confirmed Shirou. "Lord Innocentus was the first victim of the corruption process."

"Only one group was ever able to complete the process. This means that The Gauntlet works for the Seven Great Demon Lords, they want to perfect this corruption process for them." White began pacing back and forth, his digicore in a frenzy as he racked his brain for possible countermeasures or at least ways to slow down the process.

"They call it the F-Virus. The F means Fallen as a way to mock Angel Digimon" explained Shirou. "It's not ready yet, however. Much like the Program Through Armor Virus, or rather, the PTA Virus, The Gauntlet can only corrupt Champion Levels and lower."

White stopped pacing, his hands were behind his back and he was facing away from Shirou. In front of him, White could see Shirou's shadow and it was standing. More concerning however were the ragged, torn wings of the shadow.

"Shirou, have you had any alone time with my daughter recently?" asked White.

"No, I haven't, but I'm sure I'll get around to it eventually," laughed Shirou, the sound coming out cruel and distorted.

White put his crown upon his head once more and willed his golden jewel-topped scepter out of its pocket dimension and into his hand. He turned around to face Shirou, his cape flying off as he loosened it in preparation for a fight. White turned and what he saw was not the Angel Digimon his daughter had been in love with for the last several years. Instead it was a hand sized creature with a large eye as the prominent feature on its pink, spider-like body. White's scepter quickly went up as he attempted to defend himself from the small attacker.

"Despite its size, this Parasimon is a Mega Level and it was specifically breed for you by my new master," came the distorted voice of Shirou again. "The Goddess of Darkness will have you. Allow the Parasimon to take over your mind, Ambassador White!"

White continued to swipe at the small Mega but it was too agile and it kept finding a way to stay close to him. At that moment, White desperately wished he would have asked his wife to come with him instead of worrying so much about the tournament. He had to get out of the room and quarantine it. Raising his scepter, he used one of his favorite techniques.

"King Stick!" The gold diamond on top of the scepter shined and cast five strong beams of light all over the room. Where the light hit, a KingChessmon clone was created. "Attack him!" commanded White.

"To me, worm!" Shirou extended his arm and the Parasimon jumped off White and latched itself onto the angel's forearm. Shirou felt a small pain as the Parasimon made the connection, he felt the power of a Mega Level Digimon rush into him. "Pid Speed," he said in a calm voice before disappearing from sight. Before White could react, his five clones were tossed into the air by an unseen impact, disappearing into bursts of data. White himself was then tossed backwards and slammed into the ground from an invisible force above him. "You design these rooms to take damage don't you, Ambassador?" taunted Shirou as he stood over his downed opponent.

"Yes, of course," replied White, "after all, you never know when some idiot will do something that just makes you want to cut loose." White rose his scepter to unleash the energy he had been storing but a quick reaction from Shirou resulted in the scepter getting kicked out of White's hand.

"Too bad, little man," came the distorted voice drenched in wickedness. "Your wife is the warrior, not you." The evil angel lifted his foot before bringing it down hard on White's chest, knocking all the air out of him. Shirou brought his right hand up near his face and slowly, his fingers became sharp, elongated daggers.

"Please, Shirou, you must fight it," pleaded White, desperate to get out of this situation. All the measures possible to give healing Digimon the privacy they deserved were in these medical ward rooms and White was regretting every single one of them. "Shirou, think of my daughter, think of Yellowtail."

"My friends were right, she's too young for me," laughed Shirou, "I think I'll upgrade to your wife once you're out of the picture, Ambassador." Shirou's sharp fingers came down and stabbed into the eye guard of White's helmet as the Ambassador tried to threaten the angel.

White screamed in pain, he would have cried as well had his eyes survived. All White could do was grab at the powerful arm stabbing through his face. He smacked it and clawed at it and tried to pull it out but Shirou's arm wouldn't budge.

From Shirou's side he could see the red data blocks coming from White's face. Shirou was satisfied. He'd perfectly calculated the force he would need to inflict the perfect amount of damage. As much as he hated to give up the power of the Parasimon, Shirou was happy to give up the nauseating feeling of the Parasimon slowly eating away at his body.

"Go, Parasimon, climb in," ordered Shirou.

Just as he commanded, the pink-purple spider released its hold on Shirou's arm as he retracted his hand from White's face. The small Mega scurried down the arm's length and into the red data spewing wound of Ambassador White. The Parasimon's tentacles came out from the lids right around the eye and began to capture and pull back the damaged data. The Parasimon dug itself further into the skull of White. Finally, as it seemed to get comfortable, it finished pulling the data in and completed a new faceplate for the Ambassador. All damage gone and a fight having seemingly never taken place.

* * *

Back in the coliseum, Leon was being bombarded by ice and snow as his Frigimon opponent had created a concentrated blizzard to take advantage of the small field. Leon, much like Ghost the Stingmon before him, wanted to prove that Dragon was not the only powerhouse in the tournament and had as of yet, not launched a single attack. Leon stood at the very edge of the battle platform staring out into the crowd.

"You should pay more attention to your opponent," said the soft voice of Coldfist the Frigimon. "I've hit you six times with my Sub-Zero Ice Punch. I've already explained that I'm made of snow and so you can't do anything to hurt me." Coldfist was running back and forth behind Leon, the strong wind of the blizzard making it impossible to tell where his voice was coming from. "And you can't see me. I'm not even sure that you hear me." Coldfist let out a disappointed sigh. "Guess you're just not as good as I hoped."

Coldfist approached Leon, no longer going side to side and instead walking straight towards his exposed back. Though Leon couldn't hear the crowd outside, he could see how little the crowd seemed to care for his match. It seemed that everyone had given up on him. Leon smiled. He didn't think himself much of a hero, but turning things around at the last second was a fun idea and one that he could pull off. Leon smiled as he saw what he'd been waiting for in the reflection of the sponsor boards. It was a good thing that Cruz had explained that the dome allowed anyone outside to see the action inside perfectly.

"Sub-Zero Ice Punch," said the grinning beast man as he suddenly turned around and slammed his frozen fist into the Frigimon's gut.

The large snowman was stunned as the air was knocked out him. "H-h-how . . . did y-you know?" stuttered Coldfist.

"Your blizzard warmed up every now and then. That and you took forever in between each Ice Punch. I figured that if your snow body turned to ice from too much cold, you'd become vulnerable." Leon smiled wide, glad to find out he'd been right.

"M-my move, how?" asked Coldfist, acceptance of defeat clear on his bland face but confusion still audible in his voice.

"Natural talent," answered Leon.

The blizzard within the dome subsided and as Leon looked out into the many faces of the spectators, he knew he had impressed them all and won a few fans in the process.

"And the winner of the last match of the day is Leon!" announced Cruz to a raucous reaction.

Leon sneezed as he enjoyed the cheers.

* * *

"Alright, Shirou, my boy, thank you for your cooperation. I'll let you get some well deserved rest," said Ambassador White. "Make the best of it, you leave the day after tomorrow."

"Understood, sir. Believe me, getting rest sounds pretty good right now," called back a smiling Shirou.

White heard the soft swish of the doors as they closed behind him. "How troubling," he thought. Ambassador White felt that his conversation with Shirou had been short, after all, Shirou had always known how to be concise in his reports, but yet, more time had gone by than White would have expected. As he walked down the pale green corridors of the medical ward, White looked up at some of the holograms to see that Leon had made it to the next round.

"Too bad, Leon," said the Ambassador, "I just can't wait and give you the fair fight you were hoping for."

White approached the front desk of the medical ward and there he found a black PawnChessmon filing away papers.

"Excuse me, miss, do you have a moment?"

"Of course, Ambassador. What do you need?" asked the sweet sounding PawnChessmon.

"Please call my personal chambers and inform whomever answers to ready my conversation with the Yggdrasil Council," said White.

"As you wish, Ambassador," said the girl.

"Thank you, that is all." Ambassador White continued on his way down the hallway and out of the medical ward.

He had to return to the coliseum and make his big announcement. The finals were coming early. It would be Ghost versus Leon versus Dragon to determine the winner of the Champion's Tournament.


	7. Chapter 7: Private Talks

Chapter 7: Private Talks

White's announcement about the finals being moved up was met with mixed reactions. Luckily, Cruz was hired for such situations and he was able to quickly turn the tide in favor of the three Mon fight. With the crowd once more excited for the second and now final day of the tournament, White went on his way to speak with the three competitors.

White found the long haired Agunimon in his personal room, meditating in the searing flames of his walk-in furnace. Dragon sat inside the intense flames, legs crossed and fists together in front of his chest. White tapped on the metal door to get Dragon's attention and inform the powerhouse of the change in plans. The talk went well as the Legendary Warrior of Fire was quite receptive to the new setup and even seemed to look forward to the potential of a two on one situation. He thanked White for personally informing him of the change and returned to his training, an excited glint in his blue eyes.

Next up was Ghost who was initially a little annoyed as he disliked the potential for a two on one situation. After explaining a bit of the situation to Ghost however, White was able to convince the proud Stingmon that nothing he could say would undo the decision. Ghost conceded and thanked White for the explanation. Done dealing with the resistance, White handed Ghost a cream colored folder that was simply titled "Mission" and told Ghost to consider the offer. Ghost thanked the Ambassador and excused himself, stating he had more to prepare for than he likely expected.

Finally there was Leon who was now in the medical ward sharing a room with Leelee. That made the situation a bit more unpleasant as White fully expected Leelee to give him an earful. Much to White's surprise however, they didn't question the decision. Upon his arrival, the three made small talk about nagging pains and healing timetables until finally White offered to give them his reasoning. They appreciated the explanation that White gave them and furthermore, both offered their services to the Ambassador which he happily accepted. Both Leon and Leelee were being considered for a position on White's staff before the tournament so there willingness moved the process along nicely. Perhaps too nicely as White began wishing the conversation wouldn't have gone as well as it did. It was finally time for the conversation that he was dreading the most, his second talk with the Yggdrasil Council in the same day.

White excused himself from his friends' room and walked to the private chambers he shared with his wife. What would normally be a long walk was made longer by White purposefully taking unnecessary corridors. Eventually there were no other hallways to go down through and so he entered his room where he was met by kiss from his wife.

"I'm off to see Yellow. Will you be alright?" asked Black, concern obvious in her tone.

"Yes, my love," assured the KingChessmon. "I've kept you from your daughter long enough. Go spend time with her, I'm sure she'll be happy to you."

Black nodded her head and left the room quickly, more so than White would have liked. With his wife off to see their daughter, White had nothing else occupying his attention. White entered a large section of the chambers to what was normally his and Black's private movie room. The crystal covered sphere of the hologram projector was already set up ready for his use, a red light blinking on and off to signify there was a call waiting. With one last small moment of hesitation, White turned the projector on, Council Leader Wise once more floating in the air in front of White.

"We've been waiting for you, Ambassador," said the large humanoid avian in his calm, deep voice.

"Yes, I apologize. I felt it best to speak to the three competitors in person before coming here," offered White as he bowed before the Chronomon and then to either side of him in a show of respect to the entire Council.

"Acceptable," stated Wise, the subtle hint of a grin on his mouth as he realized his friend would rather not be speaking to the Council under the circumstances. "Now, we of the Yggdrasil Council would appreciate an explanation for the sudden change in the tournament."

The sphere turned and stopped on the blue half fish, half human titan known as Poseidon. "Don't allow Council Leader Wise's tone fool you, Ambassador. We demand an explanation." A loud noise like wood cracking sounded over the speakers, another armrest had likely become the victim of Poseidon's rage.

"Yes, of course, Council Member Poseidon," said White as he bowed his head again in an effort to diffuse the situation a bit. "As you were all aware, the Digimental of Miracles was stolen from us almost half a year ago when it was being transported to the Yggdrasil Tree. One of my soldiers, a Pidmon named Shirou, was captured that same day. I sent a retrieval team, as authorized by a unanimous Ambassador vote," White allowed a little pent up frustration towards the Council and some pride towards his fellow Ambassadors out in his words," to rescue my warrior."

Having picked up on the small bit of aggression, Poseidon voiced his opinion once more, "yes, and I still believe that the four to three vote of the Council against your mission was the better call. The Digimental and your warrior were not, are not, and will never be equal."

"The Digimental of Miracles should have superseded any personal investment you or anyone else should have had in the mission," seconded Gloria the Ophanimon as her image came to stop in front of White, her golden wings flared and an annoyed frown on her lips. "You've told us nothing new, simply reminded us of the past, but I expect that to change should certain Council Members allow you to finish." A small grunt from Poseidon was all the blue-green armored Angel needed, "I agree with you Council Member Poseidon, I voted the same as you after all, but what's done is done. Please continue, Ambassador."

"Thank you, Council Member," thanked White with a bow to Gloria. "In the middle of the tournament today, my daughter and what survived of the retrieval squad returned."

"You have the Digimental of Miracles!" exclaimed Excalibur, forgetting to press the button that would have his image before White. The Ambassador began to turn his head prompting the young Council Member to remedy his mistake. "I . . . apologize for the sudden outburst it's just that the Digimental of Miracles means the power of a Royal Knight is at least partially returned to us, right?'

"If the mission had been a complete success, yes, that would be the case," nodded White. "Unfortunately, Council Member, complete success is not what was attained. The squad leader made a judgment call and decided to save her subordinates rather than get them all killed and lose the Digimental."

The Imperialdramon bowed his head and his image shifted to the right to bring the image of Poseidon back to the front. The red in the Neptunemon's eyes shining brighter than White could ever remember them shining.

"Your idiot daugh-"

"Shut your mouth, child," came the deep rumbling voice of the white haired, winged serpent known as Divine the Goldramon, his anger shocking Poseidon to silence. "You've ruined enough relationships for the Council with that untamed tongue of yours. Do not ruin this one especially when Squad Captain Yellowtail made the correct decision."

Getting his bearings together, Poseidon snarled back, "your old age has made you soft, Divine."

"And your youth blinds you to your own cruelty," snapped the gold winged dragon. "Your uncontrolled rage is insufferable. Think of Council Member Excalibur. The Digimental of Miracles may benefit us all but it is to power His Royal Knights. This is his call, not yours."

"What say you, Excalibur?" asked Poseidon though he already knew the answer.

Excalibur felt out of place. He wasn't any more comfortable speaking now than when he first joined the Council. Despite being the youngest he wasn't allowed the luxury of second guessing himself when it came to making decisions. He steeled his will. "Ambassador White, as a former frontline soldier and squad leader myself, I agree with Squad Captain Yellowtail's actions. Furthermore, I hope you do not reprimand her and I encourage you to consider her for a position on the next extraction squad."

Divine allowed himself a smile despite the tension. Along with Council Member Core of the Digimon Sovereigns, Divine had personally trained Excalibur after the end of the war. Though he was only a Paildramon going by Caliber at that time, it took the two gold dragons only one month to create a Mega and then three more after that to have Excalibur master his Mode Change. Divine was proud of his former student, more now for the Imperialdramon's conviction than when Excalibur initially joined the ranks as Divine's peer.

The Neptunemon did not feel the same way. His mouth had fallen open at the conviction with which Excalibur had so openly opposed him. "Excalibur you young-!"

"Enough," commanded Wise. "Council Member Poseidon, remember than Council Member Excalibur is your equal and that you should be treating him as such. For the rest of this conversation you shall not speak unless spoken to first. Recognize it as the lenient punishment that it is. Council Member Divine, cease your interaction with Council Member Poseidon at once lest you wish for a harsher punishment as you know better."

"Understood, Council Leader," surrendered Divine.

Poseidon merely grunted and crossed his arms.

"I apologize for my earlier outburst, Council Leader," said the black draconic knight. "I stand by what I said about Yellowtail, however."

"Noted and appreciated, Council Member Excalibur," responded Wise with a shallow bow of his head. "I apologize for all that Ambassador. Allow me to say this as well, I'm sure most of us are in agreement, your daughter made the right call. Please continue."

"Thank you, Council Leader." White twirled his index fingers in his mustache, a habit he did when incredibly stressed, before continuing. "We were not able to retrieve the Digimental but we were able to rescue Shirou and the information he was able to acquire while captured. I have much troubling information to share with you all."

* * *

"My Goddess, are you there?" asked the kneeling angel in the middle of his unlit room. Shirou had his forehead to the ground in anticipation of his master's arrival. All he needed was to reach out to her using his dark power.

He labored to call out to her when finally, after a few minutes, a pale green ember began to shine on the ground. The flame grew larger, first it ran along the floor in streaks. Upon touching the furniture or walls, the green fire ran up the height of whatever it had run into. The flames became more numerous and burned more intensely until it was a jade inferno in Shirou's room.

"My Goddess, I beg you, control your power," pleaded Shirou as he tried to stand, finally believing that his master had gone too far with her demonstration of power.

Shirou's master was clearly not appreciative of his movement as the treacherous angel was treated to intense pain surging through his veins when he left his bowing position. He opened his mouth to scream but nothing came out. Instead, Shirou felt the inside of his throat dry until the skin cracked and bled data. Tears poured down his cheeks and escaped his mask as he fell to the floor, writhing in agony. Trying to adjust himself, Shirou returned to his original position, forehead on the ground, him bowing to the green ember that had escalated into this current blaze.

"Don't worry, my pet, no one can see us," came a seductive voice, the very sound of which caused all pain within Shirou to cease. "I hope you're alright, but then again, you deserved to be punished as I never gave you permission to look at me," teased the voice, this time taking an overly innocent tone. "How do you feel?"

"I feel as you wish me to feel, My Goddess," responded Shirou almost immediately. "I have good news for you. Exactly as you planned, Ambassador White is now infected with the Parasimon. If he ever gets to close to you, you'll be able to control him through it." Shirou let out a cackle, likely not realizing how ridiculous he looked laughing into the ground.

"Good work, my pet," purred the voice.

Shirou was mad with glee at the fact that his master was pleased with him. His maddening joy multiplied endlessly when he heard a soft step in the room.

"Look up," commanded the sensual voice.

Shirou obeyed without hesitation, slowly taking in all the visual appeal of his master. The first thing he noticed were sharp purple nails on the pale feet of his master. The fair tone of skin made lighter by her purple pearl adorned, black sandals and tight black leggings. Two gold trimmings wrapped around her ankle and created a subtle intercrossing design up the back and front of her legs. A golden half-orb jutted out slightly on each knee. She had a long purple sash that began right below her large, fair bosom and fell to the floor around her. Similar colored cloth was draped over the tight black clothing she wore on her arms and demonic wings on her back seemed to hug the air around her. Her long raven colored hair was held up by an ornate golden hairpiece that accentuated the beauty of her face and made her tall form look all the more royal. Feminine features were made more appealing by the purple shade atop her eyelids and not at all diminished by the large black symbol on her forehead.

After a long moment of staring and adoring the Lilithmon before him, Shirou's eyes finally fell on what was perhaps the most dangerous thing about the Goddess of Darkness, the Nazar Nail covering her right hand, a golden claw able to corrode almost anything that it touched. Shirou instinctively reeled back in horror as he remembered being shown an example of its power.

"Goddess Karma, I am blessed to be in your presence," said a sincere Shirou who had nonetheless moved away from the Lilithmon. "I never expected to be rewarded by getting to see you and for that I thank you."

"That's not your only reward," said Karma with a smile. "While you're down there, why not kiss my feet?" she asked returning to the innocent tone from earlier.

"O-of course!" exclaimed Shirou eagerly as he closed the distance between himself and her, and lowered his face to comply.

As his lips got close however, Karma took a step away from him. "Actually, you only partially succeeded with what I wanted you to do, isn't that right?" she asked mockingly.

Shirou began to sweat in his downward position. He could hear a tinge of irritation in her voice.

"Shirou, my pet," began Karma the Lilithmon, "can you tell me why the Digimental of Miracles is so important to me?"

"Because your Nazar Nail can't melt i-aaaaahh!"

"That's right, you filth. I can't destroy it, no one can," screamed Karma as she extended her glowing left hand, power surging through it and out to torture Shirou. "Do you know who killed the original Magnamon, the one from the Royal Knights? Hm, do you?" her temper was getting the better of her as she spat the question.

Shirou had one hand to his head and another to his stomach as he felt hammers pounding inside his skull and knives cutting away inside his intestines. He would occasionally grip at his throat as the dryness returned or he would simply lay their in agony as it felt his bones were ready to shatter. As the pain subsided a little, Shirou managed the answer, half choking, he practically yelled at Karma "it was you, My Goddess!"

Much to Shirou's horror, the pain intensified and he felt his bones begin to expand within his body and tear holes in his skin as they escaped. "She's really going to kill me" he thought. Shirou's elbow and knee joints were forcefully bent the wrong way; a loud, strained snapping sound was heard when the four joints shattered. Shirou screamed and his own cries of pain made his ears bleed. As the painful ringing in his ears died down he was able to clearly hear the pulse of his Digicore. It was slowing down to nothing causing him to feel vast emptiness and fear and then speeding up beyond what he could handle throwing him into an immense depression. Shirou couldn't endure it much longer, he was hoping his deletion would come soon.

In a hushed voice, Karma spoke to him, "never raise your voice to your Goddess."

Shirou was in too much pain to so much as whimper. He merely did his best to try and nod and after a few more seconds, the pain suddenly disappeared leaving behind only the twisted memory of what had happened. Shirou looked at his body and was surprised to find himself in one piece. He looked at his master once more before settling his eyes on her feet. He could not bring himself to look at her face again. He forced himself to return to his prone position.

"I killed a Royal Knight single handedly. I corroded a sword forged by the Olympos XII blacksmith. I seduced the Darkness within Spirit and turned it into my thrall. I even ensured my sister the best view for her husband's death. I did that and more, so much more," boasted Karma. "Everyone and everything should bow at my feet and yet they don't. Why?" she questioned, genuine curiosity in her voice. "I lust after death, destruction, power. I'm beautiful, more beautiful than anyone else. That is all the reason anyone should need to be subservient to me! To give me what I want!"

"Yes, My Goddess, I agree," Shirou remained on his knees with his head bowed. No longer was he lusting after the gorgeous Lilithmon before him. No, now he was fearing the Demon Lord Lilithmon, fearing her more than he would have thought was possible.

"Magnamon, the blue dragon underneath the armor melted just fine. I saw the blue scales sizzle, I smelled the stench of a reptile being burned alive. I saw the skeleton come into view only be eaten away like the rest of the body but the armor survived. It survived without my knowing." Karma let out an exasperated sigh. "You will be on the mission to retrieve the Digimental. I lost it the first time because I didn't know it existed. I lost it a second time due to Ambassador White's efforts. I will not lose it for good just because they send another group of weaklings to retrieve it. Do you understand?"

"Y-yes, My Goddess, I u-u-understand," stuttered the still frightened Shirou.

"When you find the Digimental, My Digimental, return it to My Gauntlet. They are not yet done serving me."

Shirou furiously nodded his head.

"Good pet," purred Karma, obviously in a better mood.

Suddenly, as if nothing had ever happened, the green blaze and Karma's form were gone. Shirou blinked and when his eyes opened he found that he was in bed with the lights on. He examined himself and saw that he was fine, at least from a purely aesthetic perspective. Standing up, Shirou walked over to the bathroom. He removed his mask to splash water on his face. He looked into the mirror and was surprised that his once amber colored eyes now shown violet. He made a mental note to not remove his mask around others anymore.

He returned his mask to his face and was startled when he saw the white mask of a pale faced, horned demon staring back at him in the reflection.

"Is that me?" he asked aloud as he poked the mirror with his finger, a boney knife of a finger being reflected. "My Goddess, thank you for your gift," he said to the sky as he began to cackle wildly once more.

* * *

The meeting between Ambassador White and the Yggdrasil Council had gone silent. The Demon Lords were moving faster than any of them had anticipated and that realization had forced them all into deep thought, each contemplating their own course of action.

"You made the right call, Ambassador," affirmed Wise. "I will personally pass this news onto your fellow Ambassadors so you need not worry about them staying informed."

"I appreciate it, thank you, Council Leader Wise," thanked the KingChessmon, his crown no longer shining, his scepter no longer looking noble, somberness having enveloped the room.

The image of Spirit took its place in front of White, the red and blue armor pulsating with aggression. "Do you need any of my warriors, Ambassador?" asked the angry god man Digimon. "Other than Dragon that is."

"As I stated earlier, Council Member Spirit, I don't believe Dragon would work well under Shirou or my daughter," argued White.

"Then perhaps consider Dragon as the squad leader for this one," countered Spirit.

"Strong as he is," intervened Gloria, "Dragon is not one for stealth missions and you recognize that Council Member."

"She's right," agreed Wise. "Besides, Dragon is likely eager to return to his comrades and continue the hunt for your Darkness and his friend."

"Who then is making up the stealth team that you'll be sending?" asked Spirit, a bit frustrated that he wouldn't be allowed to have one of his warriors there.

"It will be led by Shirou the Pidmon due to his familiarity with The Gauntlet and their means," began White. "My daughter, Yellowtail will go as his second."

That announcement gained a dissatisfied grunt from Poseidon but no other complaint.

"Going with them will be Leon and Ghost, the two fina-"

"Outra-"

"Poseidon!" thundered Wise's voice. "If you cannot control yourself then the Council will replace you with one of the Olympos XII who can. Stay quiet, for I have run out of patience for you. I will have no more of your outbursts or I'll excommunicate you from the Yggdrasil Council."

The six other Council Members were stunned, Poseidon most of all for obvious reasons. No member had ever been excommunicated, only the deletion of a member had ever forced a change in the Council's membership before.

Embarrassed by the threat, Poseidon repositioned himself in his chair and though he stared daggers at White, he calmly said, "Please continue."

Just as uncomfortable with the situation, White twirled his mustache again before continuing."The two finalists, Leon and Ghost will be there. Rounding off the group as the fifth member will be Leelee the Palmon, who when digivolved, is at least as powerful as Shirou was the last time I saw him," offered White. "I realize that the last three members may seem strange but when you read through my official statement concerning the matter, I believe you'll understand my perspective. Leon and Leelee are mature beyond their years and Ghost has a long history of doing stealth missions for Ambassador Eden. The three of them will be invaluable to the mission."

"I pray you are correct," whispered Gloria.

Divine's image moved to float before White though he was addressing everyone when he asked, "do you think the Demon Lords know?"

Everyone but Council Leader Wise bowed their head in sudden and powerful discomfort. The Yggdrasil Council's secret was known only to the seven members and the eight Ambassadors. The secret being the very reason that deletion was the only way to leave the ranks of the Council.

Gloria's golden wings had been folded against her backand she brought her arms close to herself in a mock hug. "My sister leads the Demon Lords now that they lost Arclight. She seems occupied with The Gauntlet and building up her army. I do not believe she knows what we hide."

Tone sad, calm, Poseidon spoke a promise under his breath, "I will never underestimate that woman again."

"Perhaps you should give your sister more credit, Council Member Gloria," came the deep rumble of Divine's voice. "As concentrated as she may seem on building her army for the next war, she's always been adept at accomplishing multiple goals at once. Kar-"

"Please, don't say her name," interrupted Gloria.

"Of course, I lost myself and ask for your forgiveness," apologized Divine, a sad pain in his eyes.

Gloria nodded to absolve Divine of his guilt.

"I believe your sister to be the single greatest threat currently to the Digital World," said Divine, "and if I may be so bold, I'd like to send one of my warriors to the Dark Area on a scouting mission."

"Council Member Divine, I doubt that course of action would be wise," argued White, "after all, The Gauntlet has been left to its own devices, the Goddess of Darkness is likely in her castle surrounded by guards and numerous security measures. Your Mon would have to get close to discover anything of value, it's too dangerous."

"Perhaps not," said the large white form of Wise, "that is, if you're planning to send the pride of the Dramon-species."

Divine gave a smile, "yes, I'll be sending Drake, he who conquered the Trial of the Four Great Dragons."

"Wow," thought Excalibur to himself. As a Dramon himself, Excalibur had heard numerous stories about Drake the Slayerdramon during the war. Though Drake didn't complete the Trial until the war was almost over, the legendary Digimon turned the tide of many battles as he raced across the field. At one point, he even saved Excalibur's life. "If you send Drake, I will support the motion," announced Excalibur.

The rest of the Council Members nodded in agreement. Drake's strength was recognized by everyone, so much so that Divine knew a vote wouldn't be necessary to gain official approval.

"Thank you, Council."

"Council Member Divine, should Drake uncover anything at all, have him report it first to Ambassador White," ordered Wise who received a nod of understanding from Divine. "Ambassador White, do not forget that Champions made up the vast majority of Digimon soldiers during the war. The Gauntlet needs to be stopped at all costs."

"I understand, Council Leader. I will communicate that importance to my squad," replied White. "Yggdrasil is dead," began White.

"Long live His Council!"

And the images were gone, leaving White with much to ponder over.


	8. Chapter 8: In the Dark

Chapter 8: In the Dark

It was late, almost midnight, but soft steps could be heard in the halls of the medical ward. The barely heard noise was being made by Leon as he made his way to the competitor lounge. He would nod a quick greeting to passing night staff but he never stopped moving. Unable to fall asleep from thinking too much, he felt a small walk and a little rest in the lounge would do him some good. The smell of leather from the couches, the hint of wood in the air from the fireplace, and the look of marble and stone making up the rest of the large yet fairly plain room were only some reasons he liked it so much. It was simple but he enjoyed it and so Leon walked to it. He was surprised to find a green figure conversing with a red one when he arrived.

Dragon who was sitting across from Ghost looked up with a smile. "Let me guess, you couldn't sleep either."

Leon smiled back, hoping his fangs wouldn't make the gesture look aggressive. "You called it. I have to fight these two monsters tomorrow, I think that's enough to keep most Mons up."

Ghost bobbed his head up and down in agreement while Dragon let out a small chuckle. "Yeah, I think you're right. Wanna join us?" offered Dragon, his left hand motioning to the empty leather chair beside theirs.

"Thanks," accepted Leon as he sat, being careful with his tail. "Have you guys been here long?"

"No," said the insect warrior. "at least I have not. Dragon was already here when I arrived."

"Guess you two are a bit more brave than me," suggested Dragon.

"I doubt that," said Leon with an even wider smile. "To be honest, I would have been here sooner but I was waiting until Leelee fell asleep."

"The young girl, she was quite impressive," said Ghost, his voice lighting up slightly. "I hope she is doing well."

"She is, thanks for the well wishes," replied Leon. "What about you? I saw your fight and you took quite the beating," he said with a laugh. "Then again, so did I."

"I am feeling much better, thank you," responded Ghost. "Looking at you now, it seems you have healed quite nicely as well."

"Good, I'm glad you're better and yes," confirmed Leon, "I'm back at one hundred percent just in time for tomorrow."

"Glad to hear it," chimed in Dragon, "because I don't want either of you making excuses when I win the whole thing tomorrow." Snapping his fingers, Dragon created a small flame above his thumb. He whipped it into the fireplace that was a few feet away from them. "I hope you guys don't mind, your cold glares just now made it chilly in here."

"You'll use your flames to light some wood on fire but not in your fight against an Apemon?" asked Leon, a bit of friendly teasing in his voice. "Isn't that a little, I don't know, backwards?"

"Backwards, you mean like the way you were standing for the majority of your fight?" fired back Dragon, his long blonde hair taking on a cherry tint from the flames. "I mean, Ghost stood still but you stood still and didn't even face your opponent until the end."

"I'm that good," smiled Leon, this time allowing a little of his natural ferocity to show in his fanged smile.

"Actually, your situation forced your hand," stated Ghost, sucking some of the energy from the back and forth interaction. "You were blind and could not really hurt Coldfist. I will admit however, you learning his technique at the end was highly impressive. That is actually what we were trying to figure out when you arrived."

Dragon laughed a bit, the warmth in the room heating up with his laughter. "That's right, Leon, we're conspiring against you."

"You'd better if you don't want to go down in one hit," said Leon, the tremble of stifled laughter sneaking into his own voice.

"Actually, Leon, I have studied both of our fights a few times and it should be the two of us figuring out a way to defeat Dragon. Despite your so called 'natural talent' it is highly unlikely that either of us win tomorrow."

The matter-of-fact way that Ghost said it made Dragon burst into a small fit of laughter, the room growing much warmer for it. "Isn't he great. When he first got here, he directly asked me what my weakness was?"

Leon lost himself a bit and few more laughs than he meant escaped him as well. "What did you say?" he asked through chuckles.

"I told him the truth, I said 'my only weakness is my girlfriend'," said Dragon with a smile. "I don't know what it is about her but my knees get weak as soon as I see her."

"He means that because he cares for her deeply, not because she has a frightening appearance," explained Ghost somewhat proudly for understanding the joke. "He has a picture, she is quite lovely."

"Thanks, Ghost, I agree," said Dragon. "I never took you as someone who would like the light shade of purple though. Here, Leon, this is her," said Dragon as he offered a small photograph that pulled from a hidden pocket in his thigh armor.

Leon took the photograph and immediately understood what Ghost meant. It was a photo that had clearly been taken early in the morning, the red from Dragon's armor was shining bright but it was the Digimon next to him that was the eye catcher. She was tall, probably about the same height as Ghost who was only a bit shorter than Dragon and Leon. She had purple hair and was covered in light purple clothing that revealed quite a lot of skin. The large butterfly wings on her back were glistening from the sun's rays and she had a warm smile on her face. Her eyewear was pulled up to her forehead to reveal light blue eyes. Two green streaks, one per cheek, were also on her face somewhat giving her an appealing, exotic look. Dragon's girlfriend was a Kazemon, the Legendary Warrior of Wind.

"She's a looker, alright," said Leon, still smiling as he handed the photograph back. "What's she like?"

"Gale is a bit on the serious side," admitted Dragon with a laugh, "but she keeps me in check which I appreciate. I called her earlier to wish her a good night. No offense to you guys but I look forward to getting back to her so I can have her as my company." Dragon took a few more moments to look at the photo before returning it to his pocket.

"None taken," said Leon and Ghost at the same time.

"Just one more day," mused Leon aloud.

"Yeah," agreed Dragon. "Sorry to cut this short, guys, but I think I'm going to get some rest now." Standing up, Dragon smiled down as his two opponents, "I suggest you two figure out a way to beat me. Two heads are better than one after all."

"It kinda sounds like you want to lose," chuckled Leon.

"It's not that I want to lose it's just that after watching your fights, I'm somewhat of a fan," confessed Dragon. "I won't throw the fight or even go easy on you guys but I will say this, I'm kind of rooting for you two."

"Who would have thought that Dragon, the Warrior of Fire, was such as softie?" teased Leon.

Dragon laughed as he walked away. He stopped at the hallway and turned back with a cocky grin on his face. "You kidding me, I'm a hardcore badass." Leon and even Ghost laughed at the statement as Dragon walked away.

* * *

Far away from Ambassador White's Metal Empire Capital City, there was a dark forest. The sunlight never seemed to get past the thick canopy of the swamp covered forest much to the residents' delight. In a large cave that was barely manageable due to moisture, there were three Digimon. The first was a tall, scantily clad fairy with a strange white vizard covering her eyes. The second Digimon was even taller as well as broad shouldered. He was wearing blue and yellow, beetle themed armor, a proud horn crowning his head. The final Digimon was considerably shorter than the first two, only reaching to about the navel of the fairy Digimon. This final digimon had light green skin that gave her an amphibious look and was covered in blue clothing that was adorned with red gems. The two taller Digimon had just finished sitting down on large stones in the otherwise empty cave while the third was standing with her arms stretched straight above her head.

"Don't worry, I'll drain the excess moisture," said the short Digimon. "Hopefully it stops feeling stuffy for you two."

"Thank you, Crystal," said Gale the Kazemon, the tall fairy.

Thunderer the Blitzmon nodded his head as a small sign of appreciation.

"You're welcome, even you tall, blue and silent," teased the Ranamon. "Really though, I don't much care for coming to the Dark Area," said Crystal. "The first time visiting was one time too many."

Sighing, Gale continued the train of thought, "You're not the only one, Crystal. There are plenty of other places I'd rather be. No offense to Jaeger."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Gale," apologized Crystal, "I didn't mean to remind you of Dragon. I hope he was doing okay when you called earlier."

Gale let out a cute sounding snort as she stopped a laugh. "Don't be silly, Crystal, I'm not talking about Dragon. If he were so weak that I had to worry about him every time I left his side, I wouldn't love him," corrected Gale. "No, I'm worried about the little ones at risk every second that the Demon Lords are free. I'm worried about the soldiers in training and those who are healing. I'm worried about Troia, our friend who is hurt and was hurt by our other friend nonetheless. I can't help but wish I could heal as well as I fight."

Thunderer nodded his head in appreciation of Gale's sentiments.

"We always thought you a better fit for Warrior of Light than our brother," came a voice from the dark shadows surrounding the cave. All three Digimon shifted their weight in anticipation of a fight, the two sitting down standing up as well. "There is so much good in you, and isn't that what Light is? Goodness?"

"Jaeger," began the surprised fairy, "it's good to . . . hear from you. Please, come with us," pleaded Gale. "It's time we go all go home together."

"No," came Jaeger's voice again, his location still unidentifiable. "We rather like this darkness. Furthermore, it will be you coming with us, not the other way around."

"Then come into the light so we can see you," commanded Gail.

"You do not make demands of us, much less in the dark, our Dark."

"We just want to talk, love," Crystal said in a cute tone. "Come on, handsome, just get out here."

"We have a question for you, little frog princess," said Jaeger.

The description, while somewhat befitting of Crystal, still hurt her feelings a bit. "Ask your question," she said, all the playfulness gone from her voice.

Seven red orbs suddenly came to life in the darkness. Three were around shoulder height when compared to Thunderer. Two were at about knee level and the final two seemed to placed atop the footwear of the hidden figure. The red orbs shrunk down to create the red irises for seven large eyes, the whites of which were now visible. Each eye was attached to the black skeletal armor of the blonde haired Digimon that was now coming into view despite the darkness. A helmet with glowing red eyes was covering most of the Digimon's face. His mouth and everything in between it and his forehead was hidden behind a demonic mouth design that was apart of the helmet. The large pauldrons on his shoulders housed two of the large staring eyes and in place of his hands were demonic canine-like skulls. His knees did in fact house another pair of eyes. A dark red undersuit was visible below his armor, over which the skull theme continued as there were two more demonic skulls at the front of the Digimon's footwear, within the mouth of which were the lowest pair of eyeballs. The seventh eyeball was in the center of the Digimon's chest and it was staring down, directly into Crystal's eyes, freezing her in place.

"Do you still find us handsome?" he asked as Crystal let out a small gasp of shock. Lifting his right arm to his chest, a large red blade erupted from the mouth of canine skull's mouth, the edge warped into a wave design making it appear more menacing. "No, we didn't think so. Come here, allow us to hurt you a little."

Thunderer had heard enough, the blue exoskeleton on his back opened up revealing insectoid wings that propelled him forward at an astoundingly fast speed despite his large frame.

"Thunder Fist!" roared the charging Blitzmon.

The electrically charged punch was blocked by Jaeger the Duskmon who used the wide side of his scarlet sword to deflect the incoming attack.

"Aqua Needle!" shouted the psychologically recovered Crystal as she swiped both arms upwards in front of herself. Two bubbling white streams of water appeared in front of her before suddenly transforming into countless high pressure water needles.

The attack wasn't fast enough as a second blade burst forth from Jaeger's left arm, identical to the first. "Blut Strike," said the darkness clad Digimon as he brought his heels together and began spinning in place at incredible speeds, the image of a red ring forming around his body due to the attack's quickness.

As Jaeger slowed, Gale engaged as she released the concentrated wind she'd been preparing. "Hurricane Gale," she said in a somber whisper. The small scale tornado rushed forward and surrounded Jaeger, the wind pulling him the opposite direction of his Blut Strike technique's momentum.

Jaeger was forced to stop his spin and he tried in vain to hold his ground but he was slowly being turned around. The eyes on Jaeger's pauldrons showed him that Thunderer was gathering lightning in his horn, it would be an attack that Jaeger wasn't sure he could endure. "Ghost Move," said Jaeger through clenched teeth just as Thunderer's large azure horn charged through the tornado. Jaeger's body was cloaked in darkness, avoiding Thunderer's attack, and entering a shadow dimension. The shadow that Gale cast rippled like disturbed water as Jaeger emerged behind her with both swords above his head and ready to come cleaving down through Gale's body.

"Tidal Shield!" yelled Crystal as she shot a thick stream of water from her palms.

The water slowed the descent of Jaeger's blade enough for Gale to duck below the dual swings. She bent low on her right leg and kicked her left leg backwards to hook Jaeger by the thigh. Seeing an opportunity, Thunderer aimed a small ball of lightning at Jaeger's face. Calculating the size of the attack quickly, Jaeger whipped his head to the left hard, dodging the attack. As he did, Jaeger felt the pressure of Gale's grip disappear. He looked down in time to see the sole of Gale's boot as she mule kicked him in the face causing him to reel backwards.

"Aqua Needle," came Crystal's attack command once more.

This time the attack connected as intended and the many needles crashed into Jaeger, cracking armor and knocking him to the floor.

"Lightning Blitz!" came the thunder filled voice of the Blitzmon. Thunderer's fist hit the ground causing a powerful lightning bolt to lunge along the ground towards the downed Jaeger.

"Too soon," thought Jaeger as he realized the ten second cooldown for his Ghost Move technique hadn't finished yet. As the lightning hit Jaeger a stifled scream could be heard through his clenched teeth. Above him, Jaeger saw Crystal riding a small wave of water into the air. He heard the familiar Aqua Needle name as she did a backflip off the wave. The rushing water transformed once more into needles and rained down its sharp projectiles. Jaeger spread his arms and legs, all the eyes on his body faced upward and the red of the iris' expanded to cover the whites. "Geist Abend," said the still calm Warrior of Darkness. Red beams of dark energy shot forward from the seven eyes and burned straight through the water needles and the ceiling of the cave behind them. Stomping one foot down to lift his lower back off the ground, Jaeger pushed off the ground going into a spin on his shoulder blades. "Eroberung," said Jaeger as the spin of his outstretched swords created the image of a red moon.

"Don't look at it, Crystal!" warned Gale a second too late.

Crystal who was still in midair had been caught staring at the hypnotic illusion of the crimson moon. Jaeger used his core strength to whip himself onto his legs and then he jumped high bringing his twisted scarlet blade down and through Crystal's body. Crystal was unprepared for the sharp pain of the deep cut forming from her shoulder and down to the opposite hip. She landed with a small thud, her body cut in two, her eyes still wide from shock.

"Lay there and wait for us to finish the other two, little frog princess," taunted Jaeger as he landed after his aerial attack. Turning his attention to Gale and Thunderer, he said, "Our Master hoped for more. She will be disappointed."

Gale and Thunderer were barely keeping their composure at this point. Both were gathering their respective element into their bodies. They began to circle around Jaeger, making sure he would have to leave his back exposed to one of them.

"You do not need to fear for your life," said Jaeger, his voice confident with his improved chances of only two on one. "After all, you all are connected to Spirit. As long as he lives you live. That means I can put you through as much pain as I want. It's perfect as our Master ordered us to capture as many Legendary Warriors as possible."

"Much like Troia, we will not be captured, Jaeger," fired back Gale.

"Troia had a far more important task than simply becoming another F Virus experiment," stated Jaeger. "No, if you were wise you'd fear the Parasimon above all else," he warned.

Gale's eyes went wide beneath her visor. Troia had done research on one such Digimon and they were deemed to dangerous to exist. If they were back, the Council needed to be warned. "Thunderer, leave now!" commanded Gale, desperation in her voice. Gale didn't remember what the Parasimon could do but she knew that someone had to warn Lord Spirit that Troia had been compromised.

Without hesitation Thunderer, whose back was to the open mouth of the cave, turned around and released his wings from the shell on his back. With one strong leg, he pushed off the ground and jetted for the opening.

"Hurricane Wave," said Gale as she threw wind blades at Jaeger.

"Ghost Move." Jaeger once more disappeared in a cloud of darkness that was dispersed by the wind attack. Prepared for his attack, Thunderer was watching the shadow he was casting below himself.

"Above y-," was all that Thunderer heard as he saw a red blur in his peripheral vision a split second before he felt a cold edge cut through his neck. His large, heavy body landed hard, the momentum of the flight causing both head and body to roll forward and stop a few feet outside the cave's entrance.

"Be grateful that the pain knocked him out. He feels nothing right now," explained Jaeger who was once more on solid ground after his aerial sneak attack "Now, have we convinced you to come willingly?"

"I will never submit so easily," spat Gale, hatred towards Jaeger and self-loathing at her own weakness plain in her voice.

"We see," said Jaeger as he began walking towards the Warrior of Wind," that's a shame." Gale let out a scream and charged Jaeger. "Stop throwing a tantrum," he said, contempt in his voice. As Gale approached, the eye in Jaeger's chest, as well as the two in his pauldrons, sprouted thin green tentacles. The new limbs extended and wrapped themselves multiple times around Gale's limbs and her body, the thinness of the tentacles not affecting the incredible strength the tentacles possessed.

"What the in the Dark Area is this?" demanded Gale as she struggled to loosen the grip of her captor. "Oh, Jaeger, what did you they do to you?"

"Fear the Parasimon," came Jaeger's warning once more. The three eyes, the one in the chest and the two on the shoulders, began to wriggle and squirm out of the black armor. The eyes had small, pink, spider-like bodies, the green tentacles were coming out from underneath the eyelids. The small, distorted voices of the three Digimon in unison with Jaeger's own spoke, Gale turned her head in sadness at what they said. "We are Jaeger."

* * *

Spirit of the Yggdrasil Council shot up in bed. He was drenched in sweat, his heart racing. Three of his Warriors had been defeated, moreover, they all had major injuries. He had seen it all in his nightmare. He saw it without color and without noise, a black and white movie in his head. Spirit looked up when he heard the knocking on his door.

"Come in," he said.

"Thank you," came Silverius' muffled voice from the other side of the thick, crystal door. "My Lord, are you okay, I heard screaming?" asked the green, mirror covered warrior.

"No, I'm not." Spirit tossed his sheet off his lower body and climbed out of bed. His sun tanned skin began to glow as he summoned his crimson and azure armor. "Silverius, you are in charge. I am off to the conference room for an emergency meeting with the Yggdrasil Council."

"Uh, w-why yes, my Lord," came Silverius' shaky voice. "Understood."

* * *

Spirit pushed open the two massive doors before him to enter the conference room of the Yggdrasil Council. To his right were the seven seats that were built individually as a way to comfortably support each Council Member. On Spirit's left hand side were the eight hologram projectors that would each show the image of one of the Ambassadors. Straight ahead of him was a large screen, complicated controls below it as it was the Yggdrasil Tree's Supercomputer. To Spirit's surprise, Council Leader Wise was already waiting inside upon Spirit's arrival.

"Council Leader, I apologize for such a sudden summons," said Spirit with a shallow bow as he took his seat, the one closest to the wall opposite the entrance.

"It's alright, my friend. The forces of the Dark Area never rest unfortunately."

"Unfortunate indeed," came the soothing voice of Gloria the Ophanimon. Despite her body armor being on, she wasn't wearing her helmet. Her long blonde hair fell freely, the two braids that normally framed her face not present either. The bright blue of her eyes showed a weariness that was not due to lack of sleep but something else that neither Wise nor Spirit could figure out. Surprisingly, she seemed to be energized and in a decent mood. "I hope that your news isn't so grave that we miss out on sleep for the rest of the night."

"I'm sorry, Council Member Gloria, but this might keep us up," apologized Spirit which in turn received a soft sigh and small smile from Gloria.

"And so it should," came Poseidon's deep voice, the Neptunemon doing nothing to mask his irritation. "If our enemies never sleep, then we shouldn't sleep either. It's no wonder we're always so far behind."

"My dear, that's a rather rash conclusion," laughed Gloria slightly. "Not even the leader of the Olympos XII can forgo sleep altogether."

Poseidon cleared his throat, caught off guard by Gloria's warmth, a warmth she'd been missing since the death of her husband. "You're right, Glo, I'll keep my brash ideas to myself, I apologize."

This time it was Wise who cleared his throat as Council Members Excalibur and Divine arrived, "Council Members, your seats, please."

The six members present all took their place as the first few of the eight hologram projectors came to life. The image of the Ambassadors appeared one at a time as each Digimon arrived.

"Finally, a meeting that takes place at a reasonable hour," said Ambassador Freakshow, the Piedmon's red lips split in a gleeful smile.

"Reasonable for some," argued Ambassador Blade, the razor sharp wings of the SlashAngemon pressed tightly against his back. Much like Council Member Gloria, Blade was also without his helmet, his tousled blue hair falling over his thin gray eyes. "Good morning, Council," he said with a small bow to the Yggdrasil Council.

"A good morning is correct, Ambassador Blade," came White's voice, a sleepy laugh could be heard in his words.

"Happy that we're not meeting to hear you speak this time?" asked Blade.

"As a matter of fact I am," shot back White.

"Ambassadors, please, let's act civilized and conclude this quickly so we may all get some rest," said Wise, a little irritation in his voice.

"Of course," said Blade and White immediately.

The image of all the Ambassadors had blinked on by the time that Core the Fanglongmon lazily strolled in. With nothing but a small nod to everyone present, Core took his seat in the massive crystal meeting hall.

"Please begin, Council Member Spirit," ordered Wise as the idle side chatter died down.

"Thank you, Council Leader," said Spirit. "I apologize if any of this report seems rushed but due to the urgency I hope you all understand." Taking a deep breath, Spirit continued, "Gale the Kazemon, Crystal the Ranamon, and Thunderer the Blitzmon have all been captured by Jaeger the Duskmon, formerly the Loweemon under my command."

"Dusk-," started Poseidon, Wise's hand going up quickly stopping him from interrupting further.

"As you all know, when I sleep I can see what my Legendary Warriors see, though there is no color and no sound," Spirit reminded them. "Now, all my Warriors should have relatively the same strength but the Warrior of Darkness single handedly defeated his three peers and I know the reason why." Spirit stood up and walked over to the chrome control panel of the Supercomputer. Quick fingers pulled up the file that Spirit was looking for. "This is a Parasimon."

The many red eyes of Core the Fanglongmon shined brighter for a split second at the sight of one eyed spider.

"Yes, Council Member Core, I'm afraid they're back," confirmed Spirit. "For those unaware, Council Member Core and the Digimon Sovereign had decided that Parasimon were too dangerous to exist. They set about deleting all the Parasimon many, many centuries again."

"Clearly they didn't do a good enough job," grunted Poseidon, his sharp teeth visible, disgust all over his face. "What makes those little runts so dangerous?"

"In all truth, Parasimon are fairly weak by themselves. Though they are Mega Level a Champion is normally a decent enough challenge for them. The danger is if the Parasimon makes a connection to the Champion or any level Digimon really." Spirit stopped to allow himself a moment to properly word his report. "Should a Parasimon complete it's symbiotic connection with another Digimon, that Digimon gains an enormous boost in his or her offensive and defensive capabilities. The trade off being the Parasimon is in control and it slowly eats away at the infected Digimon's data. The fact that my three warriors put up such a good fight against the infected Jaeger is likely due to the effects of extended infection. Unlike other Digimon, Jaeger will not be deleted due to his connection with me but that won't stop the Parasimon from leaving him a shell of his former self." Pressing a few buttons and moving certain files allowed Spirit to send everyone a copy of the new threat. "I suggest we all read as much about these things as possible."

"Did your vision show you anything that could explain how they survived, Council Member Spirit?" asked Divine, the large gold dragon stroking his beard. "I don't believe I am being biased when I say that Council Member Core would not make a mistake such as allowing a species deemed too dangerous for the Digital World to continue existing."

"I second that," said Ambassador Light, the red and white armor of the ShineGreymon glowing with vehemence. "Council Member Poseidon, I recommend you remember Council Member Core's track record. He is not one to leave jobs unfinished."

"And I don't believe he did," interrupted Eden, the red rose covering the top of her face had lost a little of the red coloring it normally had, she'd gone pale. "Arukenimon digivolve into Parasimon. It's not in the file, I briefly went through the related section just now and it was empty but Arukenimon, they are what happened. I know because I saw one digivolve into this spider creature. I crushed the Parasimon with ease and I never researched it thinking it below me," she explained.

Core's eyes were burning bright by this point.

"My friend, calm down," came Divine's voice once more. "Ambassador Eden, this is not your fault, do not blame yourself. I doubt any of us would have acted too differently from you."

"He's right, Ambassador," reaffirmed Gloria. "You've done well as we at least now know that Arukenimon and those vile little spiders, Dokugumon, are to blame for these new Parasimon."

The high pitched squawk of Ambassador Ozone sounded fiercely in the meeting hall. "Council Members, I ask that you stop coddling her. She made a mistake that will cost many innocent lives."

Ambassador Freakshow began laughing wildly. The others were forced to silence in their curiosity of Freakshow's antics.

"What is so funny?" asked Ambassador Ozone with another squawk.

"We've all made mistakes that have cost innocent lives," answered Freakshow with a sadistic smile on his face. "Me, I've carved the life out young children because I was too much of a coward to tell my masters 'no'. You, Ambassador Ozone, why you sacrificed a Wind Guardians City just to fight against the now Dark Master, Wildage the Ornismon." Freakshow's hands came up to his mouth and he began lightly tapping the lower part of his face with his fingers. "I'll never claim moral superiority over another Digimon but please, don't go trying to vilify someone for a mistake when you've done worse on purpose."

There was silence as all the Digimon present allowed Ambassador Freakshow's words to sink in. He was right and as one of the few to face his past demons head on, he was rarely wrong when it came to moral disputes, this one proving no different.

Finally, it was Spirit who broke the silence. "I have a request of all of you. Please don't inform anyone of the capture of my three warriors. I do not wish for my Legendary Warrior of Fire to go off on his own."

"Even if he finds out, we would never authorize even his Beast Spirit for the foolhardy task of barging into the Dark Area to retrieve his allies. We have you, Council Member Spirit, and I believe it is best that you recall your Warriors and use them to power yourself to as close to max as possible," said Poseidon.

Angered by the Neptunemon's numbness to his pain, Spirit shouted back, "had we authorized the Beast Spirits of Wind, Water and Thunder, we wouldn't be talking about this."

"We made the right decision," fired back Poseidon. "I opposed you then and I'll oppose you now, your Warriors aren't half as important as you are. Were you a true leader, you would make the tough decision and deny them the life you give them. You at full power is worth more to us than-"

"I refuse to keep them prisoner within my consciousness," interrupted the Susanoomon. Spirit's frustration caused lightning to disperse from his armor.

"Calm yourself, Council Member Spirit," commanded Wise. "And you, Council Member Poseidon, no more on that matter. I order the both of you to cease interaction with one another for the remainder of this meeting." Wise brought his hand to his forehead, getting more and more exhausted as the days went by.

"What do we do, Council Leader?" asked Ambassador White, his crown in his hands that were crossed in front of him.

"This is truly unfortunate news, all of it, but you continue your tournament as planned, Ambassador," said Wise, furrowed brows exposing just how worried he was. "The F Virus, the PTA Virus, and now what will surely be the Parasimon Epidemic. We are being attacked from all sides so your group is likely as good as any." The Chronomon Holy Mode closed his eyes, concentrating and trying to come up with a way to keep the Digital World safe. Despite their recent vote, Wise felt there was only one course of action that the Yggdrasil Council could take. "Still, there is only so much time we can wait for the next generation of heroes. Three months, my friends."

Some of the Digimon gathered bowed their head, others raised their chin, some simply stared ahead but they all knew what their leader was about to announce.

"We have three months to strengthen our forces as much as possible. On the ninety-first day we attack," declared Wise. "As Leader of the Yggdrasil Council, I execute my one and only Supremacy Order and deny a vote on this matter."

There were some who felt guilt, others who felt pride, and some who were indifferent at those words. By denying a vote, Wise was taking full responsibility for the loss of life that was sure to occur. While some, such as Council Member Poseidon and Ambassador Blade, felt that accepting full responsibility was a leader's duty, most felt shame in being unable to share it. The Supremacy Order was unnecessary as well, no one would have challenged Wise and he knew that, everyone knew that.

Wise sighed a bit and reopened his eyes, this time they were full of conviction and his voice boomed, "may the fallen Yggdrasil forgive my actions. Make haste my friends, for on the anniversary of the end of the Greatest Sin War, the Yggdrasil Council will see to the Subjugation of the Dark Area!"

"Yggdrasil is dead!" declared the Ambassadors and the Council Members.

"Long live His Council!"

* * *

With the meeting adjourned, Council Member Gloria returned to her private chambers. Like all the Council Members, she lived within the body of the enormous crystal tree of Yggdrasil. Going down the corridors she was far too familiar with, it wasn't long before her brisk pace had brought her to her door. Gloria's door was adorned with a replica of the fierce looking unicorn face from her shield. Below the glowering horse's face was another replica, this one of the cross emblem tipped off by four red orbs from her dress. She opened the single large door and walked in.

Unlike most of the castle, Gloria's room was not all diamond walls and rainbow lights. Much like her door, she had made sure her room was to her liking. Her room looked as if it sat atop clouds. Golden light kept the room lit showing off the soft colors of the furniture, all pale blues and greens and yellows. Despite how tired some of the other Members and Ambassadors had looked, Gloria had not been to bed yet and her excitement was still keeping her up. Rather than walk to the bedroom portion of her chambers, she went to basement level.

As Gloria descended the steps she heard the half buzzing voice of a familiar employee. "Ah, Lady Gloria, welcome back," said the quadrupedal little robot. The Datamon was walking towards her, the helmet with orange-red hair in hand. "I believe you forgot this, my Lady."

"It seems so," said Gloria with a smile. "Put it over there, Download, I rather like seeing the world with my own two eyes."

"Understood," replied the Datamon as he scurried across the floor to the nearest of the many wooden tables to sit the helmet.

"So, how far along is the purification process?" asked Gloria, her blue eyes sparkling with curiosity and excitement.

"You're just in time to witness the fruits of your labor," announced Download. "Your research, it was correct, all of it. Lord Innocentus is within moments of being free of the evil within him."

Gloria's eyes sharpened and her smile became twisted. Download recognized the malicious intent immediately but he had no time to react as Gloria manifested her gold spear and impaled him in one fluid motion.

As his red damaged data bled out, Download weakly looked up and asked, "why?"

"Because you used to work for my sister and that is an unforgivable sin," she replied with a snarl.

"But, my Lady, you know I was being held priso-" a twist in Gloria's spear caused the red data to turn blue, damaged data began to be deleted and after a few seconds, Gloria stood alone, the Datamon gone.

"My husband's murderer is free from his own evil but now he kills for me."


	9. Chapter 9: Finals

Chapter 9: Finals

"Ladies and gentlemen, Digimon of all ages, please join me in giving a warm Metal Empire welcome to the Mon who has made this tournament all possible, Ambassador White!" The crowd clapped and cheered and laughed as Cruz finally introduced the Ambassador after a few minutes of comedic stalling. In the stands, Icebreak the Ikkakumon was giving her boyfriend a sour look as she thought he had overdone it. "I'll make it up to her when we're alone," thought the tiny white serpent. Turning to the KingChessmon beside him, Cruz continued, "Ambassador, do you have any final thoughts you'd like to share before I introduce the warriors?"

"First off, let me just say thank you for the warm ovation," said a truly grateful White. "Having to turn the three day event into two and then springing the three way fight on all of you, I couldn't be any more appreciative of your understanding and for that, I clap for you." The ring around Cruz's neck that acted as the microphone caught the literal clapping of White which caused the audience to cheer for the Ambassador again. "Please, please, it's not about me today. No, it's about the Digimon that have allowed us to witness some of the most impressive fights in the history of this tradition. I will now allow those same Digimon to take center stage. Good luck to all three combatants and may the best Digimon win!"

The large, light brown, circular platform began to shake at Ambassador White's words. As White walked off the stage, some of the many square blocks making up the platform began to rise, each one stopping at a different height.

"For this final fight, these pillars of varying size will be thrown into the mix to for additional strategy. As always, the force field will also act as a way to help all our viewers keep an eye on the action," explained Cruz, his quick voice hyping up the crowd even more. "Introducing first, the Mon that set the tone for his two opponents, a hero of the Greatest Sin War, the Legendary Warrior of Fire, Draaaaagggooooonnn the Aguuuniimooooonnn!"

From the entrance way below the rafters, a large fireball jetted out and onto one of the tall platforms. Perched up high, the passionate flames began to spin and they slowly covered the body of the raised rectangular pillar. The flames condensed into a thin, controlled pillar of fire before erupting outward as red and orange ribbons of fire that dissipated beautifully. Standing atop the pillar was a tall humanoid. He had long blonde hair colored gold by the sun and his red armor shined fiercely in anticipation for the bout. A large smile was on his face. Dragon raised his right arm above his head. "This is my victory!"

The crowd cheered at the spectacle. "Wasn't that something, people? This is the first time we see the Warrior of Fire actually use fire in this tournament. Le's hope it's not the last time as that was incredible. Now, moving onto the next opponent," continued Cruz with the same fast paced enthusiasm, "I'd like to introduce the silent, calculating insect that has proven he can endure intense heat. Let's see if his previous experience will help lead him to victory. It's Ghooooost the Stiiiiiinnnnggggmmoooonn!"

More clapping and excited calls of encouragement from the crowd. Those who remembered his first entrance looked to the sky and there they saw the green insect warrior, his exoskeleton armor truly looked haunting with the bright background adding to his intimidating look. Carried by his four wings, Ghost landed on a pillar that was slightly taller than Dragon's, his pose calm, legs together, left arm behind his back, a straight back and proud face slightly looking up. Extending his right arm so that it was perpendicular to his body, Ghost willed the purple stinger above his hand to grow. "I am ready," he said, the slight buzzing noise that insect's make audible in his voice.

"Things are heating up and we haven't even started the fight yet. You two certainly know how to make an entrance. Let's see if our final combatant can top either of you," inhaling deeply, Cruz bellowed his last introduction," combatant number three, the mighty beast man, introducing Leeeeeeoooooonnn the perfectly naaaaaamed Leeeeeeeeooooommmmooooonnnnn!"

Unlike his two opponents, Leon took his time while walking out onto the stage. The entrance path was right underneath the lowest level of seats in the coliseum. It was nice to be able to walk out and enjoy all the cheering. At the same time, it allowed Leon to calm himself. His opponents looked ready and Leon needed to be too and so he took those last few seconds to focus. Leon jogged up the steps to the battle area two at a time. Once at the top, he took the time to take in the layout. While some of the raised rectangles were far apart, others were deceptively close and wouldn't allow any of them to squeeze down the middle. This setup would be similar to fighting in a forest but with a little more space in some places. Leon hoped that would be an advatange for him. Noticing that there was a pillar that could prove cumbersome behind his starting position, Leon walked up to it and using the length of his arm, smashed straight through the thin tower, toppling the potential annoyance. Blue data fell and evaporated as the pillar was deleted.

The crowd cheered, Cruz smiled, and Ghost and Dragon chuckled in spite of themselves. Though he didn't know it, Leon had just destroyed the tallest tower on the battlefield. More than either the red or green warrior, Leon had fired the crowd up and a small "Let's go Leon, let's go" chant began. In acknowledgement of the crowd's support, Leon threw both arms up and roared. Cruz made sure to rile the crowd up further by encouraging them to make as much noise as possible, even Icebreak had been taken in by her boyfriend's charisma and was howling with glee.

By this time Ambassador White was back in his personal suite beside his wife and his recently returned daughter. White, Black, and Yellowtail all sat upon the technologically advanced thrones eager for the start.

"I rather like Leon, father," began Yellowtail, a curious grin on the fox Digimon's face, "he's a brute, but he's not mean. There's something honest about that."

"We happen to agree with you, Yellowtail, but might I suggest you word that better around Shirou," Black teased, gaining a little bit of redness on the cheeks of her daughter.

"She's not wrong though," reaffirmed White. "I'm rooting for Leon. More than Ghost, I want Leon to be the leader of my club."

"Your 'club' dear?" inquired Black, a playful tone in her voice. "What happened to Defenders of the Digital World?"

"Too long would be my guess," offered Yellowtail, a small smirk on the Renamon's face.

"Embarrassingly enough, you're correct, Yellow," admitted White. A stern look from his daughter and he corrected himself. "Yellowtail, you are correct, Yellowtail," said White in an exaggerated tone. White caught his daughter rolling her eyes at him and he momentarily forgot how glad he was that she had returned home safely. "Looks like the dome is going up. The fight is about to begin."

* * *

The room was large enough to fit the varying sizes of the seven Yggdrasil Council Members. There was an enormous, rectangular table shaped from the same crystal that made up the vast majority of the Yggdrasil Tree in the massive room. Around the crystal table were the seven seats of the Council Members and opposite the short side of the rectangle there was a large screen broadcasting the final match of Ambassador White's Champion's Tournament.

Centered on the short side of the rectangle sat the large humanoid bird man, covered in white feathers with two large wings on his back, a beautiful assortment of violet feathers upon his head and a sun emblazoned across his two arms. Council Leader Wise was more excited that he would have expected for this final fight.

On the seat furthest away from Wise on his left side sat the blue and red, god man Digimon, Spirit the Susanoomon. More than Council leader Wise, it was likely Council Member Spirit who had the most nerves due to being both excited and anxious. On one hand, if Spirit's Warrior of Fire succeeded then the Council would no longer waste precious time and resources on Ambassador White's proposition for his own personally raised defense group. On the other hand, if Spirit's Warrior of Fire were to lose, then Dragon the war hero may look incompetent and that could possibly reflect badly on Spirit.

Next to Spirit was young Excalibur. The inexperienced Imperialdramon was charged with finding the next generation of Royal Knights. Since his induction into the Yggdrasil Council, Excalibur had been successful in finding four Royal Knight candidates. Unfortunately, none were Mega level yet. Wise found it ironic that White was essentially doing the same thing as Excalibur and yet there was considerable resistance to his proposition. Then again, the Royal Knights' name alone was more than enough to convince people of their necessity.

Council Member Poseidon found himself in a similar situation. Unlike the Royal Knights however, some of the Olympos XII had survived the Greatest Sin War. As proud of their power as he was, even Poseidon had to admit that the Olympos XII only survived due to being underestimated, as opposed to the Royal Knights who were made a priority, by the Seven Great Demon Lords. Poseidon had made good use of his survivors as they had gone a long way in preparing the next generation and the only missing members were a Dianamon, Apollomon, Marsmon, and of course, the former leader Jupitermon. Looking at him now, Wise could see a hesitant hope in Poseidon's red eyes. Even the acting leader of the Olympos XII couldn't hide the anxiety of the coming war and, much like Wise himself, was hoping that something special would result from the tournament.

Next to Poseidon sat Council Member Gloria, the two friends sat to Wise's right. The female angel had her helmet placed on the table in front of her. She had her fingers laced and more than anyone, seemed to be watching the screen with a serenity that couldn't be faked. Gloria either didn't care about the coming war or she was truly invested in the tournament. Maybe both. Or perhaps she had hope that Leon or Ghost would be the hero that Ambassador White was looking for.

Sitting closest to Wise were the two golden dragons, Divine on his left and Core on his right. Both behemoths had done everyone the kindness of condensing their data in order to shrink their bodies to a much more manageable size. They always did as such whenever inside the Yggdrasil Tree. Though Spirit was also older than Wise, the two large dragons had a certain air about them that made them seem even older than they were, and they were quite old to begin with. Both dragons seemed tired, far more tired than Wise had ever seen them. They had both seen plenty of death but the coming war promised the end of an era, it was affecting them because they likely suspected what Council Leader Wise thought was a certainty, the entire Yggdrasil Council would die during the war.

Wise shuttered a bit as he snapped out of his own thoughts and back to reality. Now was not the time to start being pessimistic. "Old friend, I truly pray for your success in finding the heroes we need," said Wise to himself as he thought of Ambassador White.

* * *

The dome closed and there was silence on the battlefield. Dragon, Ghost and Leon stood in their starting positions, the three spots chosen to create a triangle. Dragon looked from Ghost to Leon. Ghost looked past Dragon and slightly above Leon. Leon faced the space in between Dragon and Ghost deciding to keep them both in his peripheral.

Without warning, flames burst from the holes on Dragon's arm and leg armor. Ghost immediately became airborne and darted backwards, the purple stinger on his arm still extended. Leon on the other hand charged the Warrior of Fire.

"Sub-Zero Ice Punch!" roared the Leomon. Leon wasn't surprised to realize that all the ice had melted off his fist by the time his punch connected with Dragon's face. The beast man allowed himself a small smile from the fact that his punch had caught Dragon off guard and the Agunimon had taken a few steps back.

Off to his left, Leon heard "Moon Shooter" and took a powerful jump away from Dragon as multiple large purple spikes went flying.

"Not enough," said Dragon who had already recovered after being caught unprepared. "Fire Dash," called Dragon as he allowed flames from his heels to propel him towards the oncoming projectiles. "Gatling Burst." Still dashing towards Ghost, Dragon caught all the oncoming needles with his second technique, his blindingly fast hands gathering all the stingers.

Closer to the powerhouse than he'd like, Ghost realized the dangerous situation he could find himself in and he began to ascend upward and away from Dragon but a thrown needle caused him to descend even closer to the ground.

Recognizing the trouble that Ghost was in, Leon concentrated some of his power into the palm of his hand and shot it at Dragon's back. "Beast Wave," said Leon. A projectile smaller than his Fist of the Beast King was launched forward. Rather than the gold-orange lion's head with a mane, the Beast Wave shot a bronze colored lioness head.

Still in his stride towards Ghost, Dragon looked over his shoulder for a split second and threw two needles back towards Leon. The first needle destroyed Leon's Beast Wave the second needle forced Leon to dodge, thus denying him a second chance at saving Ghost. Returning his attention to Ghost, Dragon saw that the insect warrior had taken the small opening to mount a counterattack and was now charging Dragon head on, the spike on Ghost's arm glowed menacingly. As if it were his plan the whole time, Dragon effortlessly kicked off the ground and flipped over Ghost. He rotated in midair and just as Ghost passed over the flames left behind from his Fire Dash, Dragon threw the remaining spikes into Ghost.

Ghost screamed as he felt the four spikes pierce into his armor and straight through to the other side. Landing hard, Ghost was pinned to floor where Dragon's fire still burned. Despite the pain, Ghost was glad he had made the spikes longer rather than thicker as his situation would have been much worse for it.

As Ghost flapped his four wings as hard as he could to escape his predicament, Dragon was jumping up some of the pillars. He reached the top of one of the taller pillars and looked down at his opponents. Ghost was still stuck despite his best efforts and Leon was once more charging head on.

"I like your tenacity," yelled Dragon as Leon reached his pillar. A haymaker of a punch from Leon crushed the foundation and forced Dragon to jump to a shorter pillar that was close by. A second powerful punch from Leon toppled the second pillar as well and forced Dragon into the air once more. "Pyro Darts," said Dragon as flames rose from the three holes on his left arm. Quickly swiping the palm of his right hand through the fire, Dragon launched three burning projectiles at Leon below him.

Leon looked up at Dragon, determined not to lose sight of the red armored combatant. Seeing the oncoming fire attack, Leon once more concentrated his power, this time into his knuckles. He roared as he threw his punch upward, "Fist of the Beast King!" The large lion head of pure energy rocketed upwards and devoured the smaller fireballs.

Dragon had used enough leg strength on the second jump to launch himself out of Leon's attack range but as his first leg landed on an even lower pillar, he noticed a purple spike flying at him. "Blaze Shoot," yelled Dragon, his leg was engulfed by flames as he kicked the oncoming projectile away. From below, Leon had once more punched through the pillar and due to his already unsteady footing, Dragon fell.

"Fist of the Beast King!" roared Leon a second time. The large lion's head formed once more and this time collided with an upside down Dragon, hitting him in the chest at point blank range. The silver piece going down the middle of Dragon's chest armor shattered at impact but the projectile attack didn't explode and instead carried Dragon backwards. Dragon crashed through and destroyed two pillars before the lion head lost its form in a concentrated explosion. Feeling he hadn't done enough, Leon ran towards the now downed flame manipulator, two Beast Wave projectiles already prepared in his palms.

"Salamander Break," whispered Dragon as Leon got close. The holes from Dragon's legs unleashed fire and threw him into a small spin on his shoulder blades. The burning kicks blocked the Beast Waves that Leon shot from his open hands before connecting with Leon's exposed ribs and legs. Using all the momentum of his spinning kick, Dragon was able to jump back onto his feet and end his attack with a fiery punch to Leon's face. "That was for earlier," said Dragon, his normal playfulness still in his voice, "and this is just because I want to win. Million Gatling Burst." Dragon's left hand reached out and gripped Leon by the arm. Now in a firm grip and still reeling, Leon was defenseless as countless fire covered punches began raining down on his face.

It was seconds before Leon felt his face begin to bruise. Those bruises in turn became large welts and those welts were quickly cut open by more punches, damaged red data bleeding into the sky as a result. Slowly, Leon felt his legs grow weak. His open cuts were being burned closed, allowing more welts to form and then be cut open again. Leon fell to one knee, his face burned equally from pain and fire. He fell to his second knee when he felt his teeth and nose break from Dragon's punches. Everything began turning red as Leon's eyes were sprayed by data.

"I'm going to lose," thought Leon as his peripheral vision went black. "No, I can't," he thought as he remembered Leelee and Ambassador White. In a desperate and reckless move, Leon moved his head toward the punch and ducked the oncoming fist at the last split second. He threw his left shoulder into Dragon's gut and lifted up.

Not at all expecting any more fight from Leon, Dragon was once again unprepared. Unable to adjust his weight from the sudden movement, that on top of having the air knocked out of him, resulted in Dragon being flipped over Leon's back and thrown to the ground hard.

"Still not letting go," coughed Dragon, a small grin still on his face.

"I beg to differ," sounded the buzzing voice of Ghost overhead. "Moon Shooter," said the newly escaped Stingmon. Much like Dragon had done to Ghost, Ghost had now pinned Dragon into the ground. One sharp spike poked out of Dragon's left forearm and as his entire arm lost feeling, his grip on Leon loosened. As Leon jumped back and away a few times, Ghost descended as fast as he could and brought both his feet down on Dragon's stomach, the double foot stomp breaking the Fire Symbol on his armor and the armor around his stomach as well.

Dragon could only gasp in pain as the blow caused him to spit saliva mixed with damaged data into the air. The unforgiving floor didn't budge making Ghost's attack all the more powerful. Still standing on Dragon, Ghost shot more of his purple needles towards the closest tower and created makeshift stairs for Leon.

"From the top, Leon," called Ghost.

Ignoring the pain he was in, Leon ran for the steps immediately. He jumped from one to the next and quickly ascended to the top of the pillar. Leon didn't stay up high for long as he jumped over the edge and towards Dragon and Ghost as soon as he reached the top. Legs straight behind him and both arms straightened forward above his head, Leon had already formed the large crimson-gold lion's head over both fists.

"Fall of the Beast King!" yelled Leon.

His ally close, Ghost jumped off Dragon hoping that the Warrior of Fire wouldn't have enough time to dodge the oncoming attack. To Ghost and Leon's relief, Dragon was unable to move in time and took the full brunt of Leon's two handed attack. A loud crunching noise sounded throughout the coliseum as Leon's attack created a small crater in the floor. Dragon was now free from his makeshift prison but he was badly hurt, a large amount of damaged data bled out of his injuries.

Leon stood up, Dragon behind him, "I think we got him," called Leon as he looked over at Ghost.

"Crimson Kunckle." A powerful fireball hit Leon on the back and shot him a few feet forward. "Not yet, boys," said Dragon. He stood up slowly, the grin gone and now replaced with a stern expression. "I like you guys but this is the Digital World at stake. You have to earn your victory over me the same as in a real fight."

"Ghost Maker," buzzed Ghost as he rushed Dragon with the humming, sharp blade on his arm.

Dragon spread his bent legs and slammed both of his fists together in front of his chest. Two small fire tornadoes came alive and began to swirl around his arms. As Ghost's stinger got closer, Dragon threw both his arms forward in a diagonally aligned two handed punch. "Burning Salamander!" A long, serpentine dragon made of red and orange flames howled as it crashed into Ghost and swallowed the insect warrior whole.

Leon stood off to the side, still hurting from the attack to his back. He was stunned to see how much strength Dragon still possessed. As the caterwaul of the fire dragon grew quiet, the flames grew smaller until they were just three streak of small flames on the ground. On his knees in front of Dragon was Ghost, the tip of his stinger touching the unprotected flesh of Dragon's stomach.

Ghost's green armer was singed black and was covered in cracks. Green flesh that had been cut and burned could be seen underneath the exoskeleton. Ghost turned his head until he found Leon's eyes. "You got this," he whispered before forcing his stinger to extend further, the pulsing blade easily tearing a hole into Dragon's navel.

Dragon let out a pained cry as he backhanded Ghost and his stinger away from him. The ten count that followed seemed to last for hours. Leon created strategies and refined them. He went over everything he'd experienced in the fight so far. "Leomon all have a sword," remembered Leon. "I do got this," he guessed.

"Ten!"

Dragon and Leon rushed one another, Dragon engulfed by flames, Leon shaking the earth with each mighty step. Both Mons threw a punch that connected with the other's face, a small wind burst occurred at impact. Dragon and Leon stood, a fist to the other's face, both trying to force the punch back with their face despite the pain.

"You call this a punch, Leon?"

"Says the Mon that had to punch me a hundred times to hurt me," the beast man fired back.

"Know," Dragon took a step forward, "when," a second step, "to stay down." Dragon forced Leon's fist off his face. As Leon took a step back, Dragon clapped his fire covered hands together and shouted, "Burning Slicer." The flames shot forward, taking on a thin shape reminiscent of a sword's edge and cut into Leon's right pectoral muscle, the heat instantly cauterizing the wound but still causing considerable pain that forced Leon to take a second step back. "Fire Slide," said Dragon. He dropped to one knee and allowed a carpet of fire that formed beneath him to rush him towards Leon.

Leon saw the low attack coming. He jumped high enough to avoid the quick tackle but low enough that he managed to grab Dragon by the jaw and pull him into the air. "I haven't named this one yet!" yelled Leon as he lifted the Warrior of Fire. Leon landed on one knee and dragged Dragon over himself. Using his full force, Leon slammed Dragon onto his back.

A moment before Dragon landed, he unleashed four large flames, two from his elbows and two from his heels, that acted as rockets that slowed the slam, softening the impact. "That was close," thought Dragon. "Pretty good," said Dragon aloud.

"You haven't seen anything yet," responded Leon, a fierce, broken grin on his face. Still in pain, Leon touched the burned cut as he stood up straight and jumped backwards, away from Dragon.

Dragon pushed his palms down on the floor and used fire to lift himself back onto his feet. "That really was good, Leon. You're definitely doing better than I thought but I think it's about time to end this."

* * *

"You can do it, Leon," cheered Leelee. She was still in her room in the medical ward. She'd been watching the fight and was getting riled up with all the action. She was worried when the cute Stingmon had gone down but she really believed that Leon could still win after the last slam. "Come on, Le-"

A knock at her door interrupted her mid-cheer. A little confused, Leelee still called out, "come in."

"Why thank you, Miss Leelee," came a young, confident voice. Shirou the Pidmon walked in, his two large wings tucked close to his back so as to fit through the door. "Sorry to interrupt your amusement, Miss Leelee but I have a few things I'd like to talk to you about."

Still perplexed, Leelee asked, "so you know me but who are you?"

Shirou opened his mouth but stopped before speaking, a large smile spreading across his face. "Of course, where are my manners? My name is Shirou and I will be your Squad Leader on the coming mission to the city of Medi Gintal in Ramor."

"Oh, sorry about that . . . Squad Leader," replied Leelee, a bit embarrassed. "I know we leave soon but I haven't really gone over the part of the file with my fellow members of the mission yet, I was going to do that with Leon tonight."

"Please, Miss Leelee, it is quite alright. Also, please just call Shirou," said the tall angel with a small chuckle.

"Will do so please drop the Miss. It's just Leelee," replied the small Palmon.

"Noted, Leelee," said Shirou. "Now, for what I came here for. Leelee, as the youngest member of our squad, I need to make certain that you are mentally prepared. You see, Leelee, you are most definitely at a level that makes you useful. I'd say you are at least as powerful as I was before my capture. Now, I know that Ambassador White gave you the file on The Gauntlet but I want to prepare you a bit better for the challenge ahead."

"Your report on The Gauntlet was pretty solid, Shirou," replied Leelee, "that part I read over a few times. How much more information could you give me, that seemed to have plenty?"

"Well, perhaps information isn't correct. Rather, I can make connections for you that you may not have made yourself. For example, you are Rookie level, you're susceptible to the PTA Virus," explained Shirou.

"Oh, that's true. I never thought about that, I assumed . . ."

"You assumed that you'd be at your Champion level whenever there was danger. But we will be in constant danger," said Shirou, his smile replaced with a serious look. "We will never be safe once we leave, Leelee. I want you to be wary of the dangers."

"I'm scared, I am," admitted Leelee, "but I can help. I appreciate your concern but I'll be okay. I'll believe in you, Squad Leader Shirou. For now though, I'd like to cut this short and relax."

"I see. Well I'm glad you are taking this mission seriously." Shirou opened the door behind him. "It seems I came here without needing to, Leelee. You are as mature as I had heard. Do enjoy this time to rest."

"Thanks," replied Leelee. She felt as if she were being mocked. "If you'll excuse me, it looks like Leon and Dragon are really going at it and I'd like to cheer at the hologram. I like to think Leon can feel that I'm cheering him on."

"You two grew close quickly."

"Guess that happens when somebody saves your life," answered Leelee.

"Of course."

Shirou left Leelee's room and walked down the corridor. While Leelee did seem to be a competent warrior, Shirou felt he had succeeded in placing the fear of the PTA Virus in Leelee's psyche. "Your fear will be taken advantage of, child," thought Shirou, a sly smile forming on his face. "Whether it's the PTA Virus or the F Virus that none of you expect, my Master will have new pets."

* * *

A kick to Leon, a punch to Dragon, both Mons had abandoned their fancy attacks and were now having a simple fight. Dragon launched a high kick but Leon avoided it by dropping down to his side. Once low, Leon rolled and used his entire body to sweep Dragon's balancing leg from underneath him. Dragon fell face first but quickly scrambled onto his knees and away from Leon.

Leon gave chase to Dragon, the beast man kicked the Warrior of Fire in the back to keep him off balance. As Dragon stumbled forward some more, Leon used his Beast Wave attack to once more take Dragon off his feet.

Grounded again and facing away from Leon, Dragon stretched his arms forward and created a burst of flames that sent him blindly flying backwards towards Leon. Leon wasn't prepared to counterattack such a fast attack and opted to roll out of the way. As the Agunimon flew, Dragon saw Leon once more in front of him and he created another sharp edge of flames in between his clasped palms.

"Burning Slicer!" screamed Dragon as he unleashed a horizontal attack at Leon's legs. The cutting technique hit Leon on his left ankle as he failed to jump out of the way in time. While painful, the wound was once more burned shut.

Placing the pain at the back of important things to note, Leon landed on his good leg, more shockwaves prepared in his hands. "Beast Wave, Beast Wave, Beast Wave, Beast Wave, Beast Wave!" He repeated as he launched the small lioness-head shaped projectiles.

Dragon turned sideways to avoid the first two, a fire covered hand knocked away the second and a whip of his long, blazing hair destroyed the fourth. The fifth of the Beast Waves managed to get through and hit Dragon in his exposed chest, knocking him back and into a seated position. Taking the moment to rest, Dragon inhaled deeply and exhaled loudly.

Through labored breath, Dragon called out to his opponent. "Hey, hey, Leon?"

"Yeah?"

"You suck."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," confirmed Dragon.

"You suck, too," said Leon. "I'm gonna win this."

"I know," agreed Dragon through a mix of a cough and a laugh. "I'm just waiting to see how."

"Get up and I''ll show you," challenged Leon.

From his seated position, Dragon threw a heavy arm over his legs and lazily, he forced himself to one knee before getting back on his feet and facing Leon. "Let's end this in a blaze of glory, Leon."

"And with a triumphant roar," accepted Leon.

Dragon spread his bent legs and locked both elbows back as he braced himself. All the holes in his armor erupted with crimson flames as Dragon conjured up all his remaining power for his final attack.

Opposite him, Leon was trying to control his breathing. "I have a sword. I can summon a sword. My sword can cut through anything," he thought to himself hoping that a positive attitude would help him.

"Burning!"

"Here it comes!" Roared Leon, his left hand open, arm slightly behind his back.

"Salamander!" yelled Dragon as he threw his double handed punch once more.

A dragon made of dark red flames howled as it rampaged through the air towards Leon. Everything within the dome grew dry, it became harder to breath and the heat of the serpentine dragon headed towards him seemed to already be burning through Leon.

"Shishiou-maru!"

Leon closed his grip on the hilt of a sword that digitized into place on the back of his jeans. The beast man unsheathed the sword in a reverse grip and sliced the air in front of him. The wide arcing slash separated the crimson dragon beginning at the jaw and cutting all the way through to the end of the tail and further as the attack continued until it hit Dragon, splitting the Warrior of Flame in half. The flames didn't disperse fast enough however, resulting in Leon also being hurt as he was still being cut up by the sharpness of the fire dragon's teeth and scales. As Leon expected however, the wounds were immediately cauterized by the flames. In addition, the attack was significantly weaker than it would have been had the Burning Salamander stayed together.

Leon stood in place, his arms crossed in front of him for defense, skin burning. Looking up, he saw Dragon in two pieces, separated at the waist and sprawled on the floor. The upper half was still moving despite the significant damage.

"Not done yet, Leon!" Dragon pushed himself off the floor and used flames to once more rocket himself at Leon.

Leon took a large step forward with his left leg and wound his right arm backwards. When Dragon was mere feet away from him, Leon stomped forward with his right leg and threw his open hand out and caught Dragon by the face. Leon closed his grip forcing his sharp nails into Dragon's skull where there was no armor. Leon slammed Dragon into the ground in the same swift motion that he used to catch the flame manipulator.

"Conquest of the Beast King," Leon whispered to Dragon.

Energy from Leon's body surged down his arm, through Dragon's skull and out onto the floor. The battle platform shook and shattered in the area around the two warriors. The special concrete of the platform threw thousands of little broken shards into the air as the roar of a ferocious beast sounded through the coliseum. Leon ripped his claws out of Dragon, the flame warriors eyes completely white. The motion slightly pulled the unconscious Agunimon into the air before gravity dragged the red clad warrior back to the ground. Leon stepped away from Dragon.

The forcefield dome shifted to show an aerial view of the damage done. The downed Agunimon was in the mouth of a lion's head that had formed in the broken concrete.

The ten count began. Leon looked at the crowd outside the protective dome for the first time since he made his entrance. They all seemed to be on the edge of their seats, eyes bulging slighting, faces perhaps a bit more red than normal in eager anticipation of crowning a winner.

"Ten!" Announced Cruz. "We have a winner!"

As the dome came down, the silence that Leon experienced was drowned out by the loudest cheering he'd ever heard.


	10. Chapter 10: Implications

Chapter 10: Implications

At the front of the parade line was Cruz and Icebreak on a rather simple, iceberg looking float. Icebreak was the event organizer and had decided she and Cruz would look best on a giant chunk of ice. Cruz had his thin, serpentine body wrapped around Icebreak's long horn, the very pride of her Ikkakumon species. They both smiled and waved at everyone as they passed by, the couple's happiness was infectious and just brought about more joy in the crowd.

Behind Cruz and his beloved girlfriend were the four warriors who were eliminated in the first round of the tournament. Toro the Minotarumon and Goldenback the Apemon were at the front of the forest inspired float, both trying to take center stage. Seated on a medium sized stump, Coldfist the Frigimon was fanning himself in between waving at his fans. Finally, at the very end was Daystar the Igamon relaxing on the highest branch of a tree. Despite his closed eyes, Daystar had a small smile on his face.

Behind the first round losers was a Birdramon quartet. They were singing songs that kids and parents were able to sing along to. After them was Kris Angemon on his graveyard float. He was in the middle of pulling a SkullGreymon tooth out of his neck.

Leelee, who was behind Kris, was making dirty faces at the magician much to the amusement of the surrounding Digimon. This only added to Leelee's appeal. Due to how she was taken out of the tournament, many Digimon were sympathetic toward Leelee and so they had brought many different colored flowers which they showered her with. The young Palmon's green face turned red behind her raised hands. Though she covered her face in embarrassment, she was happy that people were wishing her well. It wasn't long before her desert inspired float became a beautiful garden.

Following behind Leelee was a large float that carried an enormous tank of water. A beautiful Mermaimon, adorned with gold and white rather than the typical silver and black of her species, was leading Dolphmon in an underwater show. Whether it was going through rings or jumping out of the water to jump through short lasting ice hoops, it was a cute show for the young ones. There were a good number of floats behind that. One had students from the local school; they had built a KnighChessmon inspired float. A different float displayed a new stain glass window that Ambassador White and his wife were donating to the Drasil Cathedral. Other floats were tributes to fallen warriors such as the Royal Knights, some to surviving war heroes like the Warrior Ten that Dragon was apart of, and so on.

Dragon and Sting were located right behind one of the tribute floats. The float was dedicated to Innocentus the Cherubimon. Though he had been corrupted, no one could forget how loved Innocentus was before his fall. He had done so much for the less fortunate, whether it be through improving education, donating food, raising money, or being an advocate for training Program Digimon until they became Aware. Dragon and Sting, despite the fun they were having couldn't help but think of the war that had ended less than a year ago. Dragon may have been a war hero, but it was Sting who had been forced to grow up during the war. They both remembered Innocentus fondly and for that, they took a small moment of silence for the mighty angel. The large dragon and insect animatronics behind them roared as the two bowed their heads.

The BlueMeramon Group were putting on a dazzling fire show in order to lighten the mood back up after the tribute floats. For the most part, they did a great job as they recaptured and increased the energy that was abuzz in the city.

Towards the back was White and Black on a small castle inspired float. They sat back down on their thrones after they too paid their respects to all who had made sacrifices during the war. After that, they too interacted with the all in attendance. Their daughter, Yellowtail the Renamon along with her boyfriend, Shirou the Pidmon, were also on this float but they stood on a low balcony that allowed the taller, grounded Digimon to reach out and touch the hands of the couple.

The parade rolled on and the energy was never lost as everyone was waiting in anticipation of reaching Ambassador White's castle in order to see the winner of the tournament. The tall tower was decorated with robotic lion heads that spewed fire and roared. Their eyes would also light up gold or red from time to time. The line of floats began to slow as the many floats entered Ambassador White's castle. The advanced technology picked up and moved the floats of all the competitors along with White's, and moved them into position. The shifting of gears, large metal hands placing things in order and making room for the main attraction, all of it was Ambassador White's hard work paying off. Finally, the tall lion tower moved into place at the front of Ambassador White's castle.

Flying to the front, the well known Kudamon had a large smile on his face. "Are you ready because here he comes, folks," announced Cruz, more excited than normal. "The one the only, the most perfectly named Leomon of all time, the beast man that conquered our imaginations and our hearts with his natural charisma and undeniable strength, Leeeoooonnn theeeeeee Beeeaaassssttt Kiiiiiiiinnggg!"

Leon was more excited that he wanted to admit. He stood behind two large gold-worked crimson doors. Ambassador White told him it was tradition to hold a festival down the center of Ari Byn. Leon was surprised to find out that the Metal Empire's Capital City was not named "Capital City". Regardless of the name of the city he was in, Leon had been having fun looking out the long, one-way mirror that wrapped around the tower.

Having heard his introduction, it was time. Leon pushed open the double doors and stepped outside to his tower's high balcony. The crowd erupted into cheers, all happy to see the champion after he spent the last few hours recovering.

"Speech! Speech! Speech! Speech!"

Leon motioned for everyone to settle down. There was a silver microphone attaching to the balcony's railing. "Alright, I'm definitely not Cruz but hopefully I can communicate my feelings to everyone," began Leon. He looked around and gave his large, somewhat ferocious looking smile. "I've only been Aware for a few days and it was pure circumstance that brought me here. Some bad stuff happened in order for me to compete but I hope to make amends as I continue to fight the good fight. I can't say too much but I can say this: thank you for supporting me. Thank you for treating me well and thank you for the cheers. I don't want to drag this out so, without further ado, let's get started with the feast!"

* * *

"Damage report, now!" commanded Wise.

The quadruped Datamon along with the many Angemon and the small metal insectoids, the Kokuwamon, were all running from computer to computer. There were five simultaneous attacks on Digimon Capital cities. The new Dark Masters, who were to the Demon Lords what the Ambassadors are to the Yggdrasil Council, had begun their assault mere minutes ago.

"King has been intercepted by Council Member Poseidon. His Absolute Army is freezing the waters of Tremin Chaara however. The Deep Savers have no way to quickly melt the ice and their defenses are beginning to crumble," announced an Angemon.

* * *

Tremin Chaara, the massive island that acts as the capital city of Deep Savers Digimon, was under attack. The beach paradise was covered in ice. There were dying and injured Digimon sprawled on the sandy beaches. Flying Digimon caught in the crossfire of the Absolute Army's assault were caught in trees or hanging off the roofs of the many, large wooden shacks. The water tubes that snaked their way around the island to thousands of malls, restaurants and homes were cracked by the terrible chill that consumed the island.

Off the crescent coast of Nomo Beach stood King on a frozen floor he had created on the ocean. A Digimon of intimidating stature, King was a Vikemon. Atop his powerful, white-furred body was a cream colored fur vest made from bleaching the scalped fur of defeated Zudomon who had challenged him in the past. Shield-like pauldrons covered his shoulders and down his arm at his hands, he wore metal rings over each clawed finger, the rings adding to his already frightening might. The fur on King's face was flared and in combination with his horned helmet, gave him an angry appearance at all times. A scarlet sash with a front flap wrapped around his waist and came down in front of his strong legs. The only thing that mattered to those who faced King however was Mjolnir, the two gray Morningstar maces that were visibly hanging on his large back.

"You'll all freeze to death at this rate, Poseidon," called King over the howl of the blizzard he had summoned.

The armored, blue titan snarled at King's mocking. "Cease your attack or die, traitor," commanded Poseidon through his sharp, bared teeth. Poseidon raised his King's Bite spear, the tri-pointed weapon's shark like tips were vibrating like saws, and he threw it into the water. "Vortex Penetrate!" The spear came to life once in the ocean. Poseidon focused his will on the water before him and began to shape it in his mind. "Gate of Atlantis," he called as he brought his hands up in front of him, closing his large hands emphatically once they were above his head. Waterspouts were forced up into the dark blue sky. Moving his hands, Poseidon began to control the flow of the rapid water and aimed it at the Dark Master before him. The King's Bite spear surged through the serpentine water pillar and came out in front of the rushing water with the intent to pierce a hole through King.

"Arctic Blizzard," roared King as he brought his heavily muscled arms down to his sides. The already rampant blizzard screamed and drowned out the cries for help from the Tremin Chaara citizens. The cold from the blinding ice and snow froze the waterspouts and even the King's Bite spear in place, only a few feet from King's face.

Poseidon floated in the water about fifty feet away from King's growing glacier. The sharp, saw-like horn on Poseidon's snout snow was glazed over with ice. Unlike the water molecules of the ocean that Poseidon kept in rapid motion to keep from freezing, there was nothing he could do to prevent his steel horn from growing brittle in King's special ice.

"Where is the little pink ghost, Poseidon?"

"Ambassador Marina is healing the wounded, tyrant," spat the Neptunemon. "Your Ikkakumon and Zudomon can't handle your ice all that much better than normal Deep Savers. Keep this up and you'll freeze your own army."

"It doesn't matter, false god, nothing that is done here today matters," said King, a nasty smile on his face, "all of you are just ice shards in the wind."

* * *

"The Dragon's Roar Digimon of Ceras Egal are unable to fight back and have begun fleeing. Three Dark Masters have attacked and are currently engaged with Ambassador Light. The Dark Masters are Atomic, Dracotech, and Transcendence," relayed a Kokuwamon.

* * *

"Your efforts are futile, Ambassador Light," said the lean, black robot Digimon. Though his stature was on the smaller side, the HiAndromon lacked none of the power possessed by all Mega level Digimon. The blue and red turbines on the Dark Master's shoulders were humming with power. "Mistress Karma was worried about the number of Mega level Digimon here in Ceras Egal but my calculations were correct, you are all too busy preparing for . . . never mind."

"You say too much, Transcendence," hissed the mechanized dragon warrior known as Dracotech. The Darkdramon's thin wings were releasing a blue energy that helped keep the cyborg airborne. Were it not for those energy wings, as well as the yellow lines that crossed the Darkdramon's armor, the dark blue that made up the majority of Dracotech's armor would easily camouflage him into the night sky.

"He is correct, Transcendence, you should know better," came the loud rumble of Atomic's voice. The behemoth warrior reminiscent of a giant, armored rabbit was looking down at his two, much smaller accomplices. Looking back at the dragon warrior whom Dracotech had slammed out of the sky with the side of his lance, Atomic continued the HiAndromon's point, "Ambassador Light, we will destroy your city. As Mistress Karma commands, so shall we act."

"As Mistress Karma commands, so shall we act," echoed the two other Dark Masters.

"Three whipping boys for the Goddess of Darkness aren't enough to destroy my city," retorted Light.

Despite his words, Light knew that he didn't have much chance alone. He looked around and saw many of the concrete and steel worked homes of Ceras Egal collapsed. The Dragon's Roar capital was built in the large nook of a long dormant volcano. An active ring of volcanos surrounded the city however, and provided warmth to the citizens all year long, something that many Dramon Digimon enjoyed. Now, it didn't seem too warm and welcoming. The city seemed hot, it seemed to be burning. The homes were built to be fire resistant but as they were collapsed into piles of rubble, they might as well have burned down.

Light could see his militia fighting the forces of the Darkmasters. Dinosaur Digimon like Tyranomon fought their dark counter parts. A MetalGreymon by the name of Warhead was fighting a losing battle against three Tandramon. BlackRapidmon were flying in the sky avoiding the firebreath of grounded Digimon and then retaliating with relentless missile fire.

"Give up, Ambassador," said Transcendence. "Dracotech, set off the small volcano near the city's front entrance. I scanned it, despite it's size, that one will cause the most vicious eruption."

"Fine, just watch your careless mouth, android," said the cyborg dragon. Dracotech turned around and was about to fly towards the city entrance but stopped when he saw sunlight behind him.

"None of you are going anywhere," said Light with a low, grizzled voice. The red and white armor of the ShineGreymon was surrounded by an enormous bright orange fireball. Ambassador Light had become a pseudo-sun, the heat of which was beginning to melt the buildings of the city below. "If my city will fall regardless, I will allow myself to fall to the depths of the Dark Area in order to kill you."

A smile spread across the visible green skin under Transcendence's black visor. "Atomic, Dracotech, are your readings the same as mine?"

Dracotech laughed, the act sounding more like wheezing, "Yes, this idiot is going to do the work for us."

"And we'd be idiots to stay to see this," said the massive BlackSaintGalgomon. "Call in our troops before . . . "

"No!" yelled Light, his scream coming out distorted and sounding as if two voices had spoken at once. The orange sun became red, and then a dark crimson, and slowly the edges became blue. The ghostly appearance flared and suddenly the pseudo-sun shined a strange stormy colored azure. "Ruin Mode," said the demented dragon, the distorted voice sounding like dozens of demons speaking in unison.

* * *

"Wildage and Ambassador Ozone have all but completely leveled the Wind Guardian's Capital of Zeono. The sky city is bound to fall out of the air at any moment," warned a Datamon.

* * *

Zeono, the floating paradise that was the capital city of the Wind Guardians. Full of tall, thick trees that had long, powerful branches, Zeono was truly an ideal place for those who were fortunate enough to fly. The Yggdrasil Council had given the sky city great trading relations with the cities and towns on the ground and that in turn had allowed the flying island to prosper. Small valleys had rivers made by traded water, Digimon that could manipulate earth had created small mountains, and Jungle Troopers had of course helped in planting and creating the trees and forest.

On this night, none of that mattered. High above the screaming city were the two bird-like Digimon that at their full size were large beyond imagination. Ambassador Ozone the Valdurmon screeched as he avoided a fast pecking attack from Wildage of the Dark Masters. The many, white wings of Ozone were dyed red with damaged data, both his own and that of the Ornismon he was battling.

"I expected more from you, teacher," squawked Ozone as he focused on creating his typical rainbow aura. "Healthy Seven," he said, the rainbow light healing the wounds covering his body.

"Lick your wounds, coward," said the crazed Wildage. "You were always such a disappointment Ozone. Such a big body, bigger than mine, and still so scared by the idea of the loss of life."

"Life is precious and what I swore to protect, what you once protected," fired back Ozone.

"Cosmic," began Wildage as he began to gather violet energy in his mouth. Knowing what was coming next, Ozone dove down towards the sky city below. "Ray!" finished Wildage.

A large beam of dark energy mixed with an air cannon rocketed downward at the city. The diving Valdurmon pulled up and intercepted the energy beam.

"Purge Shine," said Ozone as he forced his rainbow aura to grow in size many times over. Wildage's Cosmic Ray didn't slow at first, tearing easily through the red, orange and yellow colors of the defense technique. Ozone forced himself to add more strength into his Purge Shine and the indigo ended up being enough to stop Wildage's attack.

"Why do you think of the weak before yourself, Ozone?" asked an infuriated Wildage. "Those Digimon down there ruined me, they turned you against me."

"Your actions turned me against you," screamed Ozone as he flew upwards at Wildage. "You were in power for too long and you became cruel. I wanted you to see the error of your ways. That's why I allowed you to live."

"I will not make the same mistake!"

* * *

"Absolute the TyrantKabuterimon has already destroyed many of the trees at Ehiv. Ambassador Eden and the Jungle Troopers have extra support however as Ambassador Phantom is there visiting," said a second Datamon.

* * *

"Phantom, are you okay?" asked the concerned Rosemon.

"Yeah, I dodged most of it," replied Phantom. The wolf-knight was bleeding red data from seemingly every place on his body. His blue armor was cracked, he crimson cape torn, and two of the claws on his Gale Claw gauntlets had shattered. Still, the MirageGaogamon was determined to stop the enemy, his fierce resolve visible in his gold colored eyes.

"You're useless here, a neutered dog as far as I'm concerned," said Absolute, his strange guttural, buzzing voice coming from his large, open snout like mouth. The purple, serpentine insect stared at the two Ambassadors, contempt clear in his eyes. "Combined, you are still too weak to stand up to me," announced Absolute, "more so when your mind is on your own, defenseless city, dog."

"Thorn Whip," yelled Eden as she whipped her spiked vine at Absolute.

The purple monster caught the electrified weapon in his chrome digizoid covered hand and using the beetle horns attached to the top of his wrist, effortlessly cut through the makeshift whip. "Silverdeath and the Kuwagamon are killing all your citizens, Eden, and still your attention is on me."

"He's right, Eden, go to them," said Phantom. "I can fight him alone," offered the wolf-knight.

"You're not strong enough alone, much less now," replied Eden. "My sister and your pupil are helping everyone they can, let's trust in them and do what we can to stop Absolute."

"There is nothing you can do against my might," buzzed Absolute's loud voice. The oversized, violet insect put both fists in front of him, the horns on his forearms parallel to one another. A small stream of electricity began to sizzle across the tips of the four horns until it became a loud cackling of pure energy. "Supreme Shocker," said Absolute as he hurled a massive blue and purple electric orb at the two Ambassadors.

Phantom crossed his arms in front of the wolf face on his chest armor, the eyes of the depicted beast shining red as they came alive. Next to him, Eden was slightly cupping the pink Tiferet jewel that sat on her bosom as she concentrated her power. As the loud droning of Absolute's giant electric orb approached, the Ambassadors released their attacks in unison.

"Full Moon Blaster!" yelled Phantom as the mouth on his chest opened to unleash a powerful golden beam of potent lunar energy.

Beside the azure knight, Ambassador Eden yelled, "Forbidden Temptation". The rose that covered the top half of her face blossomed wildly while her red catsuit and gloves, her leaf cape and black boots were all torn from her being by an invisible force, replaced instead by an emerging roseate hue. Eden's nakedness was covered in the vibrant aura surrounding her, her bare arms stretched forward directing a beam of deep pink colored energy at Absolute's attack.

The three energies collided, two against one but still it was the blue and purple electric orb of Absolute that seemed to have the advantage. Despite the pushback of the Ambassadors' counterattack, the orb kept inching forward.

"The day is mine!" buzzed Absolute.

* * *

"Ambassador Phantom is going to be devastated. The Nature Spirit's Capital city is being completely overwhelmed," reported another Angemon. "An army of Armor Digimon led by a Shadramon just . . . " The Angemon went quiet and bowed his head.

"Out with it!" ordered Wise.'s booming voice

"Council Leader," began the Angemon weakly, "We lost Trefos. The Amored Army just destroyed city hall."

* * *

"Curse my slumber!" thought Spirit. He'd been berating himself since he woke up. Recently he'd been plagued with constant exhaustion but it hadn't been much trouble up to this point. Ambassador Phantom had asked him to look after Trefos while he visited his pupil, a Panjyamon named Swift who had been selected as a Royal Knight Candidate. Having received the designation of "The Tactician", Ambassador Phantom wanted Swift to practice strategies in varying situations and locations. "And while he checked on Ambassador Eden and her training of Swift, I was supposed to look after Trefos and its people."

Spirit raced through the clouds as a living lightning bolt. Though he had seen the damage done to Trefos already he wanted to see if there was anything he could accomplish. While he couldn't do much in protecting the city, Spirit hoped to at least capture those responsible. Finally in the clouds above the Nature Spirit's capital, Spirit descended in loud crash of lightning, his arrival shaking the ground beneath the charred ruins of a once beautiful place.

The open plains, the treehouses, the short hills and far off mountains, everything lay under rubble and ash. There were no Digimon to be seen. All the citizens who hadn't left fast enough were deleted. While there had been a small bit of ringing in Spirit's ears after his descent, it was gone now and he was left in sad silence.

"I've been waiting for your, Council Member Spirit," came a raspy voice from behind Spirit.

Thunder cracked high over the head of the azure and crimson, oriental Digimon. Spirit turned around angry, certain that the voice that had spoken was the source of the attack. Standing atop the remains of what was once a large inn were three Digimon.

In the middle was a dark green, insect-humanoid Digimon covered in flame themed armor. His mouth was a vertical set of bright red mandibles while his back was covered by two pairs of wings, one larger than the other and also with the flame design.

To the left of this Digimon whom Spirit figured was the leader, was a taller, sleek figure covered in white garb, his face included. He had two large green leaves on his shoulders and his four limbs were green vine-like appendages that ended in three pointed metal stars. A four pointed star was on this Digimon's back.

The final Digimon was the shortest but that was likely due to being on all fours. It was a blue-scaled dragonoid covered in black armor. His back had three, black lightning inspired spikes sticking out while his head had a silver and gold blade protruding out with a similar shape.

Spirit recognized all three as Armor level Digimon. The first was a Shadramon, the second a Shurimon and the last a Raidramon. Not including the insect, Shurimon and Raidramon had never been considered evil Digimon, Spirit wondered why these two were working with someone as wicked as the Shadramon seemed to be.

"Speak, who are you?" demanded Spirit.

As expected, it was the fire moth that answered for the three. "My name is Doomfire and my associates here are Greenshadow and Stormraid," he said motioning to the Shurimon and Raidramon respectively.

"What do you want here?" asked Spirit. "Better yet, why did you do this?"

"Why?" repeated Doomfire. "Simple, we needed to introduce ourselves." The hoarse voice of the Shadramon in combination with his gentlemanly demeanor gave Doomfire an eerie vibe. "Though our entire number is not here, I thought it an inconsequential courtesy to allow you to put faces to The Gauntlet."

Spirit was shocked. The Gauntlet was a group of Armor level Digimon. One Ambassador or one Council Member would be enough to devastate if not completely wipe out The Gauntlet if that was the case. "You are members of The Gauntlet. Shadramon, are you its leader?"

"Tsk, tsk, Council Member, my name is Doomfire, please do remember it as you will hear it a lot more often soon enough," warned the insect-humanoid, his wings fluttering a little in irritation. "As for your question, no, I am not the leader. You see, as you are now, our leader would be able to delete you. We are scientists however, and that means that our leader has far more important things to do than to end your existence."

"I highly doubt someone of the Armor level could defeat me," replied Spirit, somewhat insulted by the far weaker Digimon's words.

"Oh, our leader Nirvana is far more than a simple Armor level Digimon, I'm afraid," said Doomfire, completely ignoring the contentious tone Spirit had taken. "As are the rest of The Gauntlet's members."

Spirit raised his arm, palm open, to the sky. Lightning raced along the dark clouds in the night sky and thunder shook the earth once more. "Prove your superbness!" He yelled as a lightning bolt crashed down and met his palm. With little effort, Spirit redirected the bolt and sent it flying at the three Armor Digimon.

"Lightning Blade," roared Stormraid as he unleashed a blue energy sword from his gold and silver horn. The Raidramon's attack split the lightning bolt down the center before overtaking the entire thing in a blueish hue that rejoined and took on a much larger form. The massive blue lightning bolt collided with Spirit' s arm guards as he was unable to dodge the electric attack in time.

"Leaf Hurricane," said Greenshadow as the Shurimon's body melted into a cyclone of dust and leaves.

The cyclone rushed Spirit who was already gathering ice energy to freeze the oncoming attack. "Flash Freeze," he said as he aimed a cold wave of ice energy at Greenshadow.

The cold air never reached Greenshadow as two pillars of intense, dark red flames ripped through Spirit's attack. Not even a second later the Susanoomon was pulled off his feet by the cyclone. Spirit closed his eyes as the sharp leaves within the hurricane began cutting into his body.

"What's going on with me?" Spirit asked himself. "Zero Arms -, I can't summon it." Spirit was shocked to realize he didn't have the strength necessary to summon his Zero Arms: Orochi. He screamed from the pain and was he powerless?

Greenshadow's attack ended with him throwing Spirit into a pile of rubble.

"I believe that's enough," stated Doomfire, obviously happy with the way things turned out. "I do hope you'll let the rest of the Council know of how exceptional The Gauntlet truly is. I hope the rest of your number aren't stupid enough to underestimate us due to our level."

The three Digimon turned around as the green emblem of Lust appeared in midair before erupting and turning into a portal. "Knowledge is power, Council Member Spirit and I'm sure we can all agree, there is none smarter than Mistress Karma." The three Digimon entered the portal that promptly closed, and they were gone.

* * *

"Thank you for keeping me company," laughed Yellowtail, a shy grin on her face. "After my so called boyfriend ditched me, I was worried I'd spend the night alone."

"The pleasure was all ours, Yellowtail," replied Leelee. "We had lots of fun too, I'm glad you joined me and the big lug."

"Me too," agreed Leon. "It certainly beat getting drunk with those two," he said motioning to Ghost and Dragon who were stumbling down the corridor to their rooms. The two combatants had a drinking contest to decide who was the real second place winner. Unfortunately, Ghost hadn't thought it through as Dragon's body was able to burn through a lot of the alcohol giving the flame warrior an easy win.

"Anyways, it was great getting to spend a little time together before our mission," continued Leon as he looked down at the shorter Renamon.

"You got that right, big Mon," said Leelee. "Anyways, I'm going to follow Ghost and Dragon's example and go to bed. What about you guys?"

Leon looked at the much smaller Palmon and gave her a smile. "I overate so I'm actually going to take a walk."

"Mind if I join you?" asked Yellowtail rather quickly.

"I don't mind but I thought you said you were going to visit your parents," replied Leon.

"Oh, right," said Yellowtail as she tried to hide her disappointment. "Maybe next time."

"I'd like that."

"Alright, well, I'm off," said Yellowtail. "Have a good night you two." She turned and quickly hurried down the hall.

"She likes you, you know," teased Leelee.

Leon let out a chuckle and replied with innocent sincerity, "I doubt it, she has a boyfriend."

"You crack me up, Leon."

* * *

Karma sat in her lofty, upraised throne. Fallen Angel Digimon were on their knees all around her, bowing. Behind the Goddess of Darkness was a feline, belly dancer Digimon, Allura the Bastemon, who was combing Karma's hair. There were also two Program BlackGatomon with Karma. One cat Digimon was on her knees sharpening the toenails of Karma, the second was very carefully polishing the Nazar Nail on Karma's right hand. A small beep next to her caught Allura's attention.

Picking up the small beeper, Allura let out a girlish giggle. "Mistress, it's done."

The Demon Lord laughed a womanly laugh, "thank you, my pet. Honestly, that took less time than I expected. Allura, darling, please call Wise. It's time the Yggdrasil Council returns what is mine."


	11. Chapter 11: A Just World

*Update*

Good afternoon everyone, The Utopian here with a small update. I recently started a new which has taken a good amount of free time from me which was part of the reason for the delay in this chapter. Also, I've finally decided to write a Yugioh fanfiction based on the cards themselves. I have a story about the Elemental Heroes planned out so check out chapter one if you get the chance. Anyways, I plan to write both at the same and I will do my best to upload as soon as possible. Thanks for all the support and for the feedback. Your thoughts and criticisms are always welcome. Anyways, I hope you all enjoy the chapter. Happy reading.

* * *

Chapter 11: A Just World

"The Yggdrasil Council does not negotiate with terrorists."

"That's fine, Council Leader Wise, for I am a Goddess and as Goddess I know you have Arclight and I want him back," replied Karma. Though she spoke with a seductive tone, her face was beginning to show her frustration as this conversation had gone longer than she had hoped. "The first war ended after your cowardly attack on my husband. His data is not one that you would allow to escape easily and with his strength, he has surely not only hatched by now, but he is very likely already Aware."

The light purple feathers atop Wise's head were shriveled up with irritation. The mighty white bird was fed up with dealing with the Goddess of Darkness. "I do not control death, Karma, Lord Fate does."

"Yes, the winged pup was annoying to track down but once I had him in my grip, it wasn't difficult to convince him to talk."

"Y-you found Lord Fate?" asked Wise, stunned that the Digimon who rules over revival would have been found.

"Quite the eccentric Digimon. He's still angry with you and the rest of the Yggdrasil Council," teased Karma, adding an obnoxious laugh afterwards. "It seems you're not going to budge so I'll leave you with this: return Arclight to me or watch the remaining three capital cities burn to the ground. You have three days to discuss my demands with your precious Ambassadors." Karma blew a kiss from her dark purple lips and her image disappeared.

At that moment, Council Member Gloria walked out from behind the tall seat of the Council Leader. "She does know after all."

"It appears so," agreed Wise. "Tell me, Gloria, how is the child developing?"

"Arc is a gentle little boy. I raised him on stories about Cross and he wishes to be a noble and kind hearted Digimon just like my late husband," she told him. The female angel removed her blue helm to reveal that she had tears in her eyes. "I love him like a son, Wise. I can't have my sister take someone else away from me," pleaded Gloria.

"And you won't, Glo," Wise assured. "I'm sending word to Ambassador White, his retrieval team will be begin heading to Ramor tomorrow. We cannot waste any more time in regaining our strength. May the Digimental of Miracles be the first step in making this seem like a war we can win."

* * *

It was early afternoon and a small group of Digimon we're gathered at the Trailmon Station. A small white-armored Digimon stood opposite five Digimon, a muscular beast man standing closest to him.

"You have your orders and I'm confident you are all prepared despite the sudden departure," said Ambassador White. The KingChessmon was fiddling with the gold crown in his hands. "Take care of one another, understand?"

"Of course," replied Leon with as much warmth and conviction as possible and he looked down at the shorter Digimon.

Yellowtail walked over to her father and gave him a long hug. "We'll be fine, dad. I love you," she whispered into his ear.

"I love you too," he mouthed as he pulled away from his daughter.

"We won't be long, Ambassador," reassured Shirou in an almost annoyed way. "I understand your concern but trust me, this mission is in capable hands."

"Yes, they are," agreed White. "Well, the Locomon and Trailmon are arriving so I guess this truly is goodbye for now."

"Don't worry, Ambassador, you can't get rid of us that easily," said Leelee with a laugh. The short, green Digimon ran towards the departure gate with the tall insectoid, Ghost, right behind her.

"This first one is ours," called Ghost over his shoulder. "Safe travels and we will see you there."

"Take care of her," yelled Leon as the two Digimon got further away from them. "Yellowtail, I can see our Locomon pulling in as well, it's time to go," explained the beast man.

"Right, we're off, dad," said Yellowtail. "Take care of mom, whenever she gets back."

"You can count on me," thought White as he nodded his head, Yellowtail's back already to him.

The lean, yellow and white fox ran after the muscular lion and it was seconds before White saw both beast man Digimon board their Locomon.

"That just leaves you, Shirou," said White, voice slightly somber. Though he hadn't admitted it to himself yet, White already missed his daughter. That on top of a terrible feeling he had about the whole situation made him wish that he himself would have been allowed to complete this mission.

"Indeed, Ambassador. Before I go though, I just wanted to ask 'Do you serve the Goddess of Darkness?'"

Ambassador White dropped his crown with a loud clang as his body stiffened. "I serve the Goddess of Darkness," responded the Ambassador who was seemingly in a trance.

"Good, because she has a mission for you," said Shirou, a twisted smile appearing on his face. "While your wife is gone, our Mistress Karma wants you to set your castle to self-destruct at her command. Do not allow anyone to know what you are doing and silence anyone who might. Understand?" asked the Pidmon.

"I understand," confirmed White. "Anything else?"

"No that is -," Shirou stopped himself as a nasty idea popped into his head. "I know you two don't really get along ever since he became an Ambassador but are you still Blade's doctor?"

"I am," replied White, his voice beginning to sound strained as the Parasimon were losing control.

"Okay, okay good," said Shirou, excitement clear in his voice. "Our Mistress Karma wants you to poison that sword-covered hardass. Nothing major, just something that will slowly weaken the strength of all his swords. That is all."

"Understood," said White before suddenly going limp. The white-armored Digimon slowly regained his consciousness and reached down to pick up his dropped crown. "Goodness, it's hard to see my little girl head out again so soon after she just returned. I guess it's affecting me more than I thought," said White through a sad chuckle as he placed the crown back atop his head.

"It's understandable, Ambassador," answered Shirou as he allowed his wings to lift him a few feet into the air. "Now, if you'll excuse me, all the Locomon are about to head out and I have a train to catch."

"Of course, my boy, take care now," said White with a wave.

Shirou turned and flew towards the Locomon stationed next to the pole that designated it as number two. About a minute later, all the Locomon pulled out of the white and black, checkered station. Three trains, two pairs and Shirou alone, all to meet up in Ramor, or so they thought, after taking different routes as a way to gather information as well as avoid traveling in a suspicious looking group.

The Digimental of Miracles was in Ramor, The Gauntlet would be forced to stay near the city as well. The mission was strictly one of retrieval and engaging the enemy was allowed only if necessary.

Despite knowing all this, White worried about his daughter, about the winner of his tournament and the small girl that winner saved, the bounty hunter, and the boyfriend of his daughter. "Lord Yggdrasil, please allow them to return home safely," prayed White quietly.

* * *

The large steel wheels of the blue machine known as Locomon began to turn and within seconds, the Digimon and the trailing passenger cars were all blazing down the tracks. In the fourth to last car in the line were Ghost and Leelee. The two green Digimon were to share the cart for that one day of travel. The soft brown interior along with the many greens of the furniture made for a nice atmosphere within the railcar. The two Digimon were on the second level of the tall car and were sharing a long bench that stretched along the back wall of the car; both enjoying the view of the many buildings of Ari Byn pass by.

It was only a minute before the Locomon had passed the city limits. The pair were heading Northeast towards Letam, a large city north of Ramor known for its precious and industrial-grade metal trades. Due to a booming economy, Letam was also a popular vacation spot. After a few hours of going over their mission the two green Digimon began making plans for that night as their next Locomon wouldn't be leaving until the early evening the next day.

"I can't believe I'm really getting to go to Letam," exclaimed Leelee.

"It is a beautiful city," said Ghost adding to Leelee's already obvious glee. "I have only visited the city once before but that was on business so I too look forward to our small downtime tonight."

"Really?" asked Leelee, her excitement quickly transforming into curiosity. "What for?"

"I'm a bounty hunter of sorts, Leelee," explained Ghost. "I am actually quite familiar with Ambassador Eden as she hires me quite often. I actually served under her, if you can call it that, during the last two years of the war. I only say that because by then a lot of the truly evil Digimon had been subdued in some form."

"So you two stayed in contact afterwards?"

"Yes, we did," confirmed the insect warrior. "She gave me a job with the EPD but after about a year, I quit because I did not like the restrictions of being an officer. After that -"

"Wait, wait, wait," interrupted Leelee, "EPD as in Ehiv Police Department right? So when you say officer, you mean Police Officer."

"Yes, that is correct," admitted Ghost. "Like I said though, I did not like being limited by regulations. I felt that I could do more good on my own and so I left the force and offered my services to anyone who needed them. It just so happens that Ambassador Eden can still make use of me and I am happy to serve the woman who saved my life."

Leelee's facial expression changed into a mix of concern and the curiosity she was already displaying. "What do you mean by that?"

"I was still a Wormmon when the war began," started Ghost. "In the second year, my little village was attacked by a mercenary, a Mummymon named Ghostmaker."

"Ghost Maker, like the attack you used to defeat the Igamon from the tournament?" asked Leelee.

Ghost nodded his head, "yeah, exactly that. Well, the Mon single handedly defeated Oop, the Roachmon elder of the village, and killed everyone except the children. He said he would allow us to fight for our lives."

"That's awful."

"No, what's awful is what happened next." Ghost paused and clenched his fists. "I was young and reckless. I attacked Ghostmaker but that only served to anger him. He shot me in the face but made sure not to delete me. He then used a poison gas to slowly delete all my friends."

Leelee's eyes glossed over with tears that hadn't quite formed yet. The young Digimon regretted prying into Ghost's past at this point. She hadn't expected something so awful to be apart of Ghost's past. "I'm sorry, Ghost, you can stop if you want."

"It is alright, that's the toughest part to admit," he replied. "My friends were killed because of my actions but Ambassador Eden came along and found me after a week of me being in physical and emotional agony. She gave me a chance to fight the good fight and for that I will always be grateful to her."

"So you're not fueled by revenge?" asked Leelee, a little confused by the pride she had caught in Ghost's voice.

"No, I am not, Leelee. My friends would not want me to live for revenge," explained the green and black Digimon. "I named myself Ghost after I Digivolved so that I would never forget those who I lost. At the same time, I would rather devote my life to preventing anymore such loss. I believe that is better than selfishly pursuing a Digimon that is sure to be in hiding."

Leelee looking down at her lap and tried to take everything in. "How do you feel about deleting other Digimon?"

"I will not hesitate to delete another Digimon if justice demands it."

"Whose justice? Your own or someone else's?" asked Leelee, eyes wide.

"I suppose the Yggdrasil Council or the Ambassadors," answered Ghost. "I feel they are the ones most prepared, most capable of deciding what is and is not just. Until someone who I find more qualified comes along, I will fight for what they call justice." Ghost looked at the younger Digimon who had grown a little quiet. "What about you, Leelee?"

"I'm prepared, I think," she started, "but I've never actually deleted another Digimon before." Leelee sadly looked down at her hands, dark green fingers clenched into a fist. "I haven't really shared too much about myself with anyone other than Leon. Even then, we just talk about random thing we want to do in life late into the night." The plant Digimon's mouth twitched, a small smile forming as she remembered those long nights. "I'm from the Toh Desert. I remember that I have a family and five younger siblings and that one day I was suddenly torn from my home by a Saberdramon."

Ghost put his hand on Leelee's shoulder hoping to comfort her as he could see her already damp eyes beginning to overflow, the tears slowly streaming down her face. "The Saberdramon immediately flew up high. If there were any clouds that day I'm sure they would have been underneath us." Leelee opened her fists and let green powder fall to the floor. "I had no way to hurt the Saberdramon but I could paralyze it. We fell fast, its wings along with the rest of its body was completely limp. As we descended I saw all these trees below us and I was able to will some branches to pluck me out of the air."

"What about the Saberdramon?" asked Ghost.

"I don't know about you but to me, it sounds like thunder when the bones of a big Digimon all break at once," Leelee looked up and stared at Ghost. "The Saberdramon didn't suffer long because the fall caused it to be deleted pretty quickly. When I absorbed its data I became Aware."

"So when you say you have never deleted a Digimon you mean-"

"Yeah, I mean I've never done it while Aware," confirmed Leelee. "It's one thing when you're a Program and essentially just an animal but to delete when you have morals and can reason, it seems like a waste of life. Who knows what any given Digimon could eventually come to do."

"There are evil Digimon, though" offered Ghost, "surely we can not let those Digimon do as they please."

"Don't get me wrong, I can agree with that but," Leelee paused as she tried to find the right words, "I just wish there was a better way. I was taken from my family but you know what, I'm a big girl and I found my way. The fallen Yggdrasil may have given me a rough start to being Aware but I like being the prize fighter that I became." Leelee was giving Ghost a hard look. "I've never been a soldier because knowing that I deleted another Digimon is not the type of prize I've ever wanted to fight for. I'll do what I must though, for this mission, for our world because I know right from wrong. I'll soldier on with you guys, my prize is knowing that justice will once again reign supreme."

"My prize is knowing that the correct people dictate what justice is," Ghost said just as adamantly as Leelee had spoken. "I wonder what Leon's prize is."

* * *

Leon and Yellowtail had a passenger car that was similar to the one that Ghost and Leelee were in only decorated differently. The interior was a pleasant crimson with gold paint worked into the wood. The furniture was a spectrum of colors ranging from a warm dark-brown to bright orange. The two beast man Digimon were on the second level of the car as well and enjoying the view in between their preparations. Yellowtail and Leon had spent the last two hours going over what they wanted to do once they reached Pireem.

Pireem was an average sized, lazy town that, for the most part, hadn't been affected by the war. Regardless, the town was known as a good place to catch information as even the smallest news made the town come alive, especially news regarding The Gauntlet.

A KnightChessmon under Ambassador White had actually first heard of The Gauntlet during a vacation to his home city there. Shortly thereafter, Yellowtail was sent to investigate and once she discovered that the Digimental of Miracles and possibly Shirou were in Ramor, she was given the green light to take a retrieval squad into the city. As The Gauntlet had gone public with their recent attack on Spirit of the Yggdrasil Council, Yellowtail was hoping that another trip to Pireem might provide some useful information on any of the other members. To her pleasant surprise, Shirou was incredibly supportive in her decision despite the fact that the mission was for retrieval purposes only. The angel had acknowledged how useful information would be when it came to the still rather mysterious Gauntlet.

"You're taking this mission awfully seriously, Yellowtail, perhaps we should take a small rest," suggested Leon, his face looking tired, particularly around the eyes.

"You can rest if you like, Leon but I need to be perfect during this mission," said Yellowtail calmly. The lovely fox failed to see the need to even look up at Leon when she spoke. "We have a lot of Digimon relying on us and yes, I realize you only became aware recently but if another war is in the works, we need as many players as possible. The Royal Knight of Miracles being a key player above most."

"After the attacks last night I know where you're coming from but it won't do you or anyone else any good to run yourself into the ground," said Leon, determined to get Yellowtail to rest with him. "Five minutes and then we can continue. We've both memorized the layout of Ramor, the waterways included, I think we've earned it."

Yellowtail stopped examining the map on the small table in front of them and looked up to glare at Leon. "We've earned nothing until we've avenged all those lost in the first war. The monsters who conspired against the Digital World need to pay for what they've done and I plan to be apart of the force that finally ends their reign of terror."

"As do I, Yellowtail but -"

"But what?" She asked somewhat mockingly. "You just became Aware, I've read your file, you don't remember anything but for some reason you think you know what justice is."

"Yeah, justice is your little brother not becoming a victim of war," fired back Leon.

Yellowtail's mouth fell slightly open, internally she didn't know whether to cry from sadness or scream in anger.

"I read your file too," continued Leon, cutting Yellowtail off just as she was about to speak. "Justice is children, adults, everyone knowing that they are safe because the powers that be care enough to protect them while also being able to put personal bias aside."

The yellow fox couldn't believe her ears as she had a moment of déjà vu. The only difference being that the last time someone had said those words to her, she was speaking to her father. She still remembered the story that Ambassador White had used to calm her that day so long ago.

"The Fall of Cross" interrupted Yellowtail, this time it was her catching Leon with his mouth open before he spoke.

"What?" asked the confused beast man.

"Yeah, your file said you didn't remember anything from when you were a Program. Anyways, Cross was the Seraphimon that revealed all religions were true but that at the very top of all the so-called gods, there was Yggdrasil," explained the light-yellow fox. "Needless to say, his acceptance of everyone along with his modesty and caring nature quickly made him one of the most beloved Digimon. When Yggdrasil fell to the Seven Great Demon Lords, one of which is his father, Lord Cross was devastated but advised everyone to remain calm and to not lash out in anger. Less than a year into the war, Lord Cross was killed by Karma's manipulation of Lord Innocentus."

"Did Digital World heed his warning?" asked Leon.

"No," confirmed Yellowtail. "Yggdrasil was this unreachable greater power who we prayed to but never saw. Lord Cross was the greatest friend the world ever knew and in losing him we all lost a large part of ourselves. A reckless attack was launched. The Demon Lords capitalized on our rashness and won the battle that could have ended the war so much earlier." Yellowtail thought of her younger brother, a small Kotemon named Grey. "I apologize, Leon. I am riled up and you were correct in telling me to rest. You learned everything quickly. We can review our plan tonight before we reach Pireem."

Leon gave Yellowtail a sad smile. He understood that Yellowtail was dealing with guilt, insecurity, and a strong sense of duty to the point he felt bad asking her to relax. At the same time, he knew they both needed their rest. They were two days from Ramor and they needed to be ready.

"Sounds like a plan to me," said Leon as he stood up to go downstairs. "Want to see what we have to eat?"

"Yeah, I'd like that," replied Yellowtail, a small smile on her face.

* * *

"Shirou, are you headed here yet?" Asked the raspy voice on the other side of the communicator.

"Yes, Doomfire, I should be arriving shortly," responded Shirou. "Any success with the Digimental?"

"If there had been I wouldn't be wasting my time speaking to you," snapped Doomfire. "The Digimental will be retrieved. We haven't picked up its energy signature so if nothing else, no one has tried to use its power. Either way, that is of no concern to you."

"Actually it is, insect," corrected Shirou. "Goddess Karma may only want me as a distraction for White's retrieval team but I am still affected by whether or not you succeed."

"You doubt The Gauntlet, fallen angel?" asked Doomfire, the aggressive Digimon beginning to lose his temper.

"I do for the simple reason that you've had ample time to locate the Digimental of Miracles and have come up empty handed thus."

"Three Digimon from the Warrior Ten are currently in our custody and you act as if we've been doing nothing!" came the hoarse shout of Doomfire. "We've perfected the PTA Virus, just about perfected the F Virus, have eliminated three war heroes from the equation of the coming war, built an army, and humiliated Spirit of the Yggdrasil Council. All you've done is get caught up in your former life and allow your ex-lover to expose the fruits of our research."

"You forget that Ambassador White is now infected with a Parasimon thanks to me," said Shirou, his voice quiet but dangerous. "I willingly went with Yellowtail because you're men let the Digimental of Miracles slip through your hands. I had a role then and I have a role now as do you. I suggest you stick to that role."

"I suggest you delete me the first chance you get, Shirou." said Doomfire as he allowed his anger to escalate the situation. "I'm an insect now but if you ever allow me to return to my original form that will be the end of you."

"I could say the same to you, insect. I was flying over to your location but I think I'll go have fun in Pireem," said Shirou. "One last time with Yellowtail sounds much better than spending time with your group of failures."

"That girl is your weakness, Shirou," said Doomfire. "Have fun in Pireem."

"Oh, I wi-, call ended." Shirou sighed as he realized Doomfire had gotten the last word. "I'm sure Yellowtail will be able to cheer me up at least."

* * *

"Smite," called out Doomfire in a hoarse roar of a summoning.

An angelic white beast covered in steel belts flew into the dark room from the second floor balcony.

"You called?" asked the Gargomon in a strangely soft voice. Due to the two metal belts forming an X over its eyes, the Digimon had an eerie look about it.

"Shirou and I just finished talking. He's decided to attack Pireem tonight and leave Letam for tomorrow," lied the Shadramon.

Smite turned his head to look at the dark green insect in fire armor. "I'm offended, Doomfire," said the winged beast. "If you want him deleted, just say so."

Doomfire let out a dry wheeze of a laugh. "No, Smite, I want him captured," he corrected. "Bring the fallen angel here and I'll delete him myself."

"Oh, not getting along with him, Doomfire?" Came a voice from the shadows. In the corner of the room, the gathered darkness began to change color. First the steel of metal stars came into view, then the off-white of clothing, and finally the green on the Digimon's shoulders.

"What do you want, Greenshadow?" asked Doomfire, somewhat irate that the Shurimon had been eavesdropping.

"Only to be allowed to go forth with my attack on Letam as will."

Smite's head turned again as he stared at the ninja. "We're supposed to attack together, Greenshadow. The others are busy and our opponents are not to be underestimated."

"Neither are we," replied Greenshadow. "Let's get this all over with tonight. We have more than enough Program soldiers to easily destroy the two cities."

"That would free the two of us up for tomorrow night," said Smite as he contemplated Greenshadow's suggestion. "What are your orders, Doomfire?"

"You can have your way, Greenshadow. Burn the cities to the ground and leave no survivors," commanded the Shadramon. "Fail me and be deleted."

"Understood," said the two other Digimon.

* * *

Phlegm infested coughs thundered through the Yggdrasil Tree. Digimon servants were running in and out of Spirit the Susanoomon's chambers.

"Please, Lord Spirit, is there anything else I can get for you?" asked the worried Sistermon Blanc. The young female Digimon was dressed in the white and pink clothing synonymous with the Blanc Sisters. Moreover, she also wore an anxious expression on her face.

"No, thank you, sister," wheezed Spirit before hacking more phlegm into a disposal unit.

"Well, if you're sure," replied the Sistermon hesitantly. "Father Cielo is on his way here from Drasil Cathedral. Hopefully one of his blessing can help you feel better."

Spirit nodded his head, barely having the energy for that small movement. "Until he gets here, I want to be left alone," whispered Spirit, his eyes half closed from tiredness and pain.

The Sistermon Blanc opened her mouth to argue but stopped before saying a word. "Understood, my Lord. Please call if you need us for anything," she offered before taking a bow. "Let's allow our Lord to rest now, girls," ordered the young girl to her fellow Sistermon.

It was but a minute before everyone in the room had cleared out leaving Spirit alone to his thoughts. The armored Digimon used the voice command on his hologram projector to get the machine working. "Call, Dragon."

After two beeps, Dragon answered on his PHP, portable hologram projector. "I see you're not feeling any better, my Lord."

"No, I'm not. That's actually why I'm calling."

Dragon chuckled a bit. "Do you want me to hunt down the guys who beat you up? I'm going to need my Beast Spirit to pull that off."

"Dragon, I'm dying," admitted the legendary Digimon suddenly and without warning. "Troia and Silverius are in the same predicament. The line has gone silent as far as Mythos and his group are concerned."

"But there's still me and Gale's group," interrupted Dragon with a forced smile on his face. "I know things are looking bleak and this is before the war starts up again but please, my Lord, I can't have you losing hope on us."

"About Gale, Dragon," began Spirit.

The red-armored warrior's blue eyes grew wide, "what about Gale? Is she okay?"

"Her group found Jaeger-"

"That's great," Exclaimed the excited flame warrior. "When do they get-"

"Stop interrupting me!" screamed Spirit only to be thrown into a fit of coughing. Dragon flinched more from the pained coughs than from being yelled at. Slowly, Spirit was able to stop the coughing and regain his composure. "They were captured. Jaeger was powered by Parasimon, little parasites than can gives you a power boost or eat you alive from the inside. That's what's happening to me."

"How?" asked the Agunimon, his hair ablaze in anger for not having been told about his girlfriend but still with enough control to save his personal feelings for this betrayal until another time. "How did you become infected, my Lord."

"Troia was infected when we saved him," answered Spirit. "When I took him in, the Parasimon were allowed into my data and Silverius' after that."

"Have you figured out how to purge them?"

"There's no known way, according to Council Member Core," responded Spirit. "That's okay though," he said gently. Taking a deep breath, the mighty leader of the elements continued, "the Warrior Ten are the avatars of nature and I am their united might. My existence is ancient, as are your true forms that maintain me. I've been kept together by those 10 ancient spirits for longer than I can remember but I believe it is finally my time to go."

"What happens to us?" asked Dragon cooly, understanding what Spirit was referring to.

"When I die, all the members of the Warrior Ten will become talismon's emblazoned with the symbol of their element. You will all have your true power returned to you but you will be stuck within the talismon until a Digimon worthy of your power offers their body as a vessel," explained Spirit.

"What happens to the Digimon who gives us a new body?"

"They are deleted for the greater good. I know you won't agree with me but you have no say in this matter," said Spirit coldly. "Anyways, Father Cielo is on his way here but he's not here to bless me as the Sistermon likely told you. He's here to give me my last rites. I'm sorry, Drag-"

Dragon crushed his PHP and threw it into the sky. He screamed and the small handheld device exploded and became a small fireball that burned out before it hit the ground.

"We're the good guys, dammit!"


End file.
